So where have I been?

Well, as I am sure you know if you know me at all (either online or in person) I just had a cute baby 3 weeks ago! And wow... life sure is crazy and hectic trying to adjust to life with a newborn. I knew it was going to be crazy, I just didn't think it would be THIS crazy!

The road has been bumpy, we've run into several issues with getting breast feeding established, and we still continue to do so. We've tried many different tricks and tips to get him to be successful at the breast, but he continues to have trouble. We've met with with lactation consultants, we go to a weekly support group, we've met with the pediatrician, an ear, nose and throat doctor and a chiropractor. I've also sought out my friends/family recommendations as well as reading some online community boards.

We've had to transition to bottles and a pacifier a lot sooner than we anticipated, but Baby L is thriving. He's eating and gaining weight like a champ. Our situation is what is called as exclusively pumping. He's still getting breast milk, I just have to pump it out for him and bottle feed it to him. The situation has it's pluses and minuses, Ben can help with the feedings which no only gives him time with baby L, but also gives me a break from having to do all the feedings. However, the situation means being almost "married" to the pump. Which some women have a hard time wrapping their head around. For me it doesn't seem to be a problem. For me, the bigger problem is that I felt like a huge failure as a mother when I couldn't succeed at breastfeeding. I know now, that I'm doing all I can for my child and he's thriving because of it.

I would say that being successful at pumping means having some good tools at my disposal. My Medela freestyle pump is a necessity. This is a game changer for me, being able to still move around while pumping is huge. And being able to pump anywhere. My concern with this is the hands free device for this, it didn't work for me, it was very cumbersome to attach - especially for me being a large chested woman.

That is where my Pump Ease hands free bra came into play. This bra was much easier to use and accommodates my plus sized boobs perfectly. I actually liked it so much, I ordered another one so that I can have two - JUST in case. Having to pump without it is terrible. I can't say enough good things about this product. It is a MUST for any woman who plans on pumping.

 

I also reached out to the community, I remembered that awhile back Roni had done a post on storing/freezing breast milk and since that is going to be something I need to do, I sought out her post on it so I could develop a system. I LOVE her idea, it's genius, I am honestly surprised that the baby companies haven't come out with something like it.

So things didn't go according to plan... I didn't get the birth I wanted, I didn't get the breast feeding experience I wanted. I've realized that I can only hope things will go according to plan, but I learned to be flexible and adjust.

I saw this on Medela's facebook page this morning, how true! And how I wanted to be part of that 32%.

We are getting out and about and enjoying being a family of 3! This past weekend we met up with some of my college friends and went through a corn maze! It was so much fun and we really had a great time. Baby L slept through the whole thing, and we paid dearly that night when he was up most of the night. Which sparked us to put this shirt on him....

This coming weekend, Baby L is getting baptized. It'll be a great opportunity for some friends and family to meet Baby L. My brother and my sister in law are coming up from North Carolina, as well as some other friends who haven't met him yet.

It's been great having some company. It's nice that our friends love us so much and are so excited for us. But we've also been limiting our company, not knowing what our schedule would be, we didn't want to overwhelm ourselves with a revolving door of company. So we try to space it out, it has worked for the most part. Also it's been partly selfish reasons, Baby L is only so little for so long, and Ben and I want to enjoy him and our time together. Ben also only has a month off from work, I have 3 months. So I wanted Ben to do and enjoy his son while he could, before he had to go back to work. It's scary to think that this is the last week before Ben goes back to work and Baby L and I are on our own (for the most part).

So that is why I haven't been blogging, or even reading blogs - I don't even want to look at my google reader... I've been enjoying my family. And it's been lovely.

And today I start a new weight loss challenge. I want to lose this baby weight and never see 370 on the scale again!

Time to get back in the saddle.

Baby is here!

Sorry for the delay in the post, it's been quite a whirlwind! But our baby is here!

Introducing Brenden! That's right, I had a baby boy!

Brenden came into this world on Friday September 21st. So I was 39 weeks and 6 days. I missed my due date by one day!

After spending the weekend in the hospital, we've been home for just under a week. It's been super crazy and hectic, but it's been worth every bit of lack of sleep. We are finally getting into a groove that is manageable and I am feeling more confident.

So just a quick check in with a picture just to fill my readers in.

Any guesses?

So as we near the end of this whole pregnancy thing... does anyone want to venture a guess? I am 39 weeks and 3 days. My due date is Saturday September 22nd.

So... boy or girl?
Weight? - Doc says it's gonna be a big baby, 8 pounds plus...
Length?

When will Baby L arrive?

38 Weeks

I've made it to 38 weeks! 14 days left till my due date. I had my doctor's appointment on Friday when the doctor mentioned to me that not all women will go before their due date, and many first time moms are actually later than their due date. I really wanted to say, bite your tongue! But instead I nodded and said that I understand. Secretly hoping that wasn't the case for me.

I am feeling a lot more pelvic pressure and stretching, I am hoping that is all good things and it means that my body is transitioning into what will eventually be labor.

I am super excited to find out what we are having. I am not really nervous, just excited about everything. The only thing I am nervous about is that I do not want to deliver on 9/11. For obvious reasons, but if it happens, I'll deal with it.

Baby L has been head down now for several weeks, so that is great. Still feeling lots of movement. In fact I was over my best friends house and Baby L had a solid 10-15 minutes of movement so she actually got to feel some of the movements which she was absolutely thrilled about.

Another friend had come over to help me put away baby stuff and set up some other things. I really have some awesome friends and family who are all helping Ben and I bring a beautiful baby into this world.

According to my scale at my house, I am up 40 pounds. This seems like a lot to me, everyone tells me, but you're pregnant which I know, but it's the heaviest I've been ever... And I really do not want to do this again at this weight. I plan on focusing on losing some weight in between pregnancies.

So that's about it. Most of my updates have been on twitter. It just seems easier for me to quickly update there rather than do a formal blog post. So what's your guess.... boy or girl?

Friday's appointment

So I had my weekly appointment on Friday. I had gained 4 pounds in a week, the doctor had noted that not only were my feet/lower legs swollen, but that it had migrated into my hands and face. The verdict... All done with work. The doctor really didn't like the long hours that my job has, and the fact that I couldn't put my feet up and still do my job also were factors.

I asked the doctor if that meant bed rest or some form of it. She said that she still wants me moving around, no blood clots. But that when I am sitting down to as much as possible have my feet up. Limit my outings. When I do go out, no more than an hour in the car, try to have someone else drive, if possible, and when out shopping/running errands, limit trips to about an hour.

At first I was terrorized. I mean, I am a workaholic. I like the routine/schedule that work provides. And now not to have it, I just didn't know what I was going to do. But I want to keep this baby healthy and in for as long as the baby needs.

I also realized that it'll give me time to work on getting the house ready to bring baby home. I can work on projects here and there and then rest in between as necessary. So maybe it won't be so bad.

I will say, even after 2 days, the swelling has gone down and I have already dropped some of that weight.

They had to reschedule the ultrasound portion of my visit. Which is tomorrow. They want to see how big baby L is, since I am still measuring ahead.

So all in all, I was shocked at the news from my visit. I wasn't planning on that news, but at least it could have been a lot worse. I will take this in stride. I have a lot of support from family and friends, I am really blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

Morning Ramblings

Looking back on some of my posts, it's hard to believe that a little more than 2 months ago we went on a road trip to North Carolina to visit my brother and my sister in law for my brother's college graduation. And that the other night Ben said that his best friend in Rhode Island wanted us to come for a visit. I couldn't even begin to fathom spending more than an hour in the car right now. I think my brother's graduation was a the right time for us. I was glad I was able to travel to see him, but so glad I don't have to do that now!

I am excited for my brother and sister in law to come back to New Hampshire in a few weeks! They have a wedding, but will be here for a week(ish). Not sure if they will be here for the baby or not, that depends on when the baby wants to come out! But it'll be nice having them here.

So from my last post, Ben worked diligently through the weekend to get our nursery set up. He transformed the bedroom from a guest bedroom into a nursery. Granted more would have been done if he didn't have to work through his vacation, but I am happy with the progress he made in the short time he did have. It enabled my friend and I to go through all the baby shower gifts and get a better organized. Now we have a shopping list of what we need to go buy. I am grateful to have such kind friends who are willing to be put to work. As I had a difficult time with all the bending over and lifting. I guess the one pitfall about trying to set things up this far along.

Later on this morning I have my weekly doctor's appointment. Where I am expecting my weight to be up. Having been at the fire academy 3 days this week for classes and having worked last night, there hasn't been much time for me to chill and elevate my feet. I just hope the doctor isn't too mad at me. I am excited to see baby L, we are doing a growth scan to see how large Baby L is, at my last appt, I was measuring 42 weeks! that's a bit ahead! I am hoping that Baby L isn't that large! Though there was a huge discrepancy from my last scan. I measured 4 weeks ahead but baby L was only a week ahead. So I take those measurements a little lightly, knowing that I have a big uterus and what not.

I've been having more Braxton-Hicks contractions lately. I just assume that it's my body getting ready for the big day! But there have been some really strong and intense ones lately, I always ask, are these real? But until they are timeable and consistent, I don't worry too much about them. 

Other symptoms have been headaches, heartburn, complete bitchiness and SWELLING.... I feel like I am never NOT swelling. I hate all the pictures that are taken of me, I can see all the swelling in my face, not like earth shattering/medical condition swelling, but more like puffiness. I also am getting used to functioning on little to no sleep. Although the baby is sleeping through the night (not many/no movements through the night) I am having to get up to pee or readjust due to leg cramps at least every hour or two. So even when I go to bed early, I am still waking up all the time. I hate to say it, but it's getting easier to function on less and less sleep. I think this time really prepares you for being up all night with a child.

I am getting so excited for this baby to make it's entrance!  Although I still have to finish the nursery and pack my hospital bag at least... so hold off for a few more kid!

35/35!!

I am 35 weeks and 35 days left! Holy cow!

So yesterday I went to my doctor's appointment, Ben was on "vacation" so he got to come with me. I use the term vacation loosely, since the poor man had to work during his vacation. But at least he got to enjoy one day of vacation. And by enjoy I mean run around with me while I was doing my errands.

Anyways, at my appointment my due date was changed. First is was 9/21, then 9/22 then at my 9 week u/s it was 9/25 which is what stuck. NOW the doc is saying that no, it's been 9/22 all along (based on LMP) and that the girls in the front office got it wrong. Ugh. tough trying to juggle 3 different systems of keeping track that's for sure!

So I am 35 weeks as of today! Doc says that if I were to start labor any time, that they wouldn't stop it. But every day baby keeps cooking is better. I said I wouldn't do any jumping jacks.

My BP was perfect, but I have been getting headaches with some black floaters in my vision and I've had some pitting edema, so they ran a pre-e lab panel. I didn't hear anything back, so I am hoping that I am good. Thankfully working in a fire station, the guys can take my BP when necessary AND transport me to the hospital if necessary. I feel pretty safe there.

I didn't gain any weight from my last appt, 2 weeks ago, where I gained 8 pounds in 2 weeks. So she was happy with that (that I didn't gain). However,  I am measuring at 42 weeks!! yikes!

So next week I start my weekly appt checks. I get a growth u/s to check baby's size. We are getting close!

Ben has been working on our nursery. He spent the better part of yesterday cleaning out the guest/2nd bedroom. Here is a picture of most of the gifts we've received!

Ben the comedian...

Yesterday we also managed to pick up the baby furniture. Right now it's living in boxes in our living room.

Ben is making great progress on the nursery, despite the vacation week hiccups. I am hoping to get in the room either tomorrow or Monday to start getting things set up.We bought our furniture at a local / family owned business called Baby Go Round. Very knowledgeable and super friendly staff! Made the whole process very easy for us first timers! We will most definitely be back! Our crib is the "legendary" by Baby's Dream and I hope that it looks as good in their promo picture as it will once we unbox it! We opted for their cinnamon color, but here is their promo picture in their espresso color.

Image source

I still need to finish my thank you's for my baby shower gifts. I've only made it about a third of the way through. It seems as though when I start making some progress, I get more gifts in, I don't want to miss anyone! My stepmom, Louise had an idea, as gifts come in write the thank you's then, and work my way back, since all the ones from the shower are written down. That way I'd be less likely to miss anyone. She's brilliant!

After finishing the nursery, next up is to pack my hospital bag, I've got a list started, and most items won't be able to be packed until day of, but at least I can start gathering things and the list will be ever so helpful.

33 Weeks

I've been getting increasingly more uncomfortable as the summer and this pregnancy goes on. But I keep reminding myself that there is a great reward at the end. And that every week that goes by gets me one step closer to seeing my baby!

I've been battling leg cramps at night, they at times force me to get up and walk around, other times I can massage my calves while still in bed till they go away. I've been told this is usually due to fluid retention. Not sure if it's the weather (it's been hot and humid all week) or just pregnancy, but I've been very thirsty, and 90% of the time I crave water. Which is always a good thing. That is one thing that I am grateful for is that I've never been afraid to drink water. I am now just drinking so much more of it.

I am hopeful that Ben will get to work on the baby's nursery next week. Most of the questions I get now are "is the nursery finished?" Finished? It's not even started! We are using our 2nd bedroom/Ben's office as our nursery, so we need to remove the bedroom furniture that's in there in order to get the baby furniture in there. Ben is on vacation next week (hopefully) and will be attempting to get it all done then. I am excited about getting things wrapped up so that I can get in there and get things set up how I want them.

I owe a post on my baby shower, but needless to say it was amazing, and I don't really have much left that I need. Although my friends/family did say that many of them were holding off on buying clothes until I deliver so they know what gender to buy for. I think we are really throwing people off by not knowing the gender.

We met with our daycare provider last night. Since we don't have much need for full time, we ended up going with a private provider. She's a stay at home mom who watches other people's children on the side for extra income. She is familiar with the fire service and the rotating schedule that I have. So our baby will be in daycare 2 days a week. She only lives about 15 minutes from us, so it's very convenient for us. And she comes highly recommended from a friend of ours. We are very blessed to have found a great situation that will work for everyone.

I've been getting out on some more walks as of late. I walked a lot in the first trimester, but the second trimester I was really tired and just ended up slacking big time on my walks. Now in my third, I am still tired, but I want to be more active and get my stamina up to better prepare myself for delivery. Ben has been awesome and walks with me. It's great that he and I can spend time together.

I can no longer take deep breaths. I am simply out of room. I feel there are times the baby is stretched all the way out, as I can feel the baby deep in my pelvic cradle and all the way up into my ribs. I have a feeling we are in for a tall baby! However, baby is still head down so I am excited about that. Fingers crossed that baby stays that way.

31 weeks!

So I am 31 weeks and 1 day along! I can't believe I only have 9 weeks to go in this adventure. And then it's a whole new chapter in life for me!

I think I am most excited to see what we will have! Boy or girl! Most of the people in my daily life says a girl (something about where the baby carries on me), but there are a few boy comments as well. I honestly don't care, so long as baby L is happy and healthy!

Ben and I completed our birthing and newborn classes, Ben still has the "daddy boot camp" class this Saturday, then we are all done! I have to admit, going through the classes, is probably one of the better things I have done. I feel a bit more prepared for what's going to happen, but as with most things in life, you can only plan and prepare so much. A lot of things in life just happen. Especially when it comes to birth and having children. Learning to go with the flow has been tough for me, but Ben is really great at it and I've learned lots from being with him.

Our baby shower is this weekend! I am excited to see my family and friends and help me celebrate this new chapter in my life. I am so very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family around me.

Overall, health wise, I seem to be doing ok, everything seems to be tracking very normal. Well, in my case, in the baby's case, Baby L is going to be a big baby. I have been measuring ahead for the last month. I am measuring  4 weeks ahead, so my doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to check the baby to see if it's a big baby or a big uterus. Well, Baby L is looking like a big baby! Thankfully not 4 weeks ahead, more so like 8 days. Given how much my due date has shifted around, I guess it's likely to happen. Also I was a big baby (9 pounds) and so was my brother (10 pounds 15 ounces). So the doctor seems to think that I just may be built to have big babies. Let's just hope its more on my end of the spectrum and not my brother's end.

Again the doctor's didn't seem too concerned with the size of the baby and said that everything that I want as of now, can still happen. Which is reassuring news to me. They commented that they'd probably like to do another ultrasound at 36 or 38 weeks just to check in again, but that as of now, things look fine.

According to my scale at home I am up 26 pounds overall, I am ok with this number, I've gotten better about gaining so much weight, knowing that things are ok with Baby L and I am handling things ok, I am good. This has also given me incentive to lose the weight after baby is born so that a) I can keep up with baby L and b) when we want to try for baby #2, I won't be as uncomfortable with weight and what not.

Baby L is moving a lot. It's been reassuring to me, more movements, mean healthy baby. Ben has been able to see more than he can feel. Something about his hand whether it's the heat or the pressure in his hands, the baby doesn't like and usually stops moving when he places a hand on my stomach.

I also feel like this summer has been the hottest and most humid summer ever, of course I know that's not true, but that's what I feel like it's been. I have been very thankful for the A/C that I have access to.

Sunday Thoughts

I've been enjoying spending time with my cousin while she's been in town on vacation. She's been staying at my parents and just relaxing and enjoying her time here.

My parents took her up to North Conway on Thursday of this week, I had baby classes on Wednesday and Thursday, so I wasn't able to join them until Friday. But we had such a relaxing time up there, even if it was a quick visit.

We had a great time showing Amy the north country, Saturday her and I went up the Mount Washington Auto Road, it's something that is quite unique and it's pretty amazing to do. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy and it impacted the view a bit, but we were still able to see quite a bit. It was 78* at the bottom and 59* at the top, it made for a pleasant trip, but it was VERY windy.

And this was only about halfway up! 

 

 

Good thing I didn't really bother doing my hair that morning....

My cousin is like my sister, her and I can talk freely and about anything. I have never felt the need to sensor myself around her.

One thing I noticed that really impacted me, was the altitude. And how much I got winded just from walking around. Being 29 weeks pregnant and having all that extra fluid and blood in my body and having to circulate that fluid/blood, takes a lot of effort normally. Add the thinner air on the top of the mountain and I got winded easily. We took our time walking around. All in all it was a fun trip up the mountain and to North Conway.

My cousin heads home tomorrow morning. And gosh I am going to miss her! We are getting together for dinner tonight with the family, I am sure it's bound to be a fun time.

As my cousin heads home, my friends' wedding is this coming Saturday and I can't wait to share in their special day. I stole a peek at the forecast and it's looking like the weather is going to be phenomenal.

On the baby front, things seem to be progressing, I felt as if the baby was taking a vacation while we were in North Conway, as there wasn't much movement, and of course the second I go to work the baby picks up with the movement, and even now the baby continues to move around. My cousin really would like to see/feel the baby, but every time we are around each other the baby seems to not want to move around. Or at least big movements that can be easily seen/felt from the outside. Most of the movements are smaller or quite low.

I have my next OB appointment on Friday which will include an ultrasound to check the size of the baby. Since I am measuring large, the doctor just wants to check in with the size.

Enjoy your week!

Life moves quickly...

You know if I blogged more I can break up all these things that are going on, but it just seems like life gets away from me.

Well I had my appointment last week, baby is still measuring large, so they scheduled an ultrasound for my next visit (July 20th) to check the size of the baby. My doctor didn't seem overly concerned, but just wanted to check. I guess it's fairly common. I am happy to get another look at the baby, I just hope things are ok. So far (according to the doctor's office) I am only up 11 pounds. By my scale at home I am up 20 pounds, that tends to fluctuate day to day, but ranges from like 18-22 pounds. I am hovering right around the 348-350 mark. I never thought I'd see those numbers, but I also know that right now, I can't be so concerned with the numbers, more so making sure I have a healthy baby. 

I also had my lab work done, and I got the results on Thursday. No gestational diabetes and I'm not anemic! Of course, this is the best possible news for me (and for my baby). I am very happy not to have be concerned with that.

The baby is moving a lot. I am now at the point where I am supposed to keep track of kicks/movements, at least 10 movements every 2 hours. I haven't been keeping track, but I know the baby is moving enough! Holy cow, there have been several occasions where the baby kicks and it ricochets off my ribs or something!  Takes my breath away! I enjoy feeling the movements, knowing they are special to me.

My cousin, Amy is in town for 2 weeks, I miss that girl so much when she's not here... but we have such a great time together. We went to the drive in and saw Ted on Tuesday night, and then last night we saw Magic Mike. I've been to the movies more in the last week than I have in the last 2 months! Also there are some great movies that are coming out in the near future. Her and I have also seen some of our family while they are in town as well, it's been really a great time. I have been enjoying my summer, as much as I can.

I've been working a lot of extra shifts at work, it's summer, so it's busy but also covering vacations, I've taken on some extra shifts. I'll be happy when I can be on maternity leave and get a break (but not really! LOL).

I had a wonderful Fourth, Ben and I had some time off and we went to visit with friends in Mass. It was great spending time with them and their children, especially where I had never met their youngest child and she's now 2!

We also bought baby furniture! Holy cow, things are getting real for us! It should be here in 6-8 weeks! Just in time for Ben to be cleaning out our guest bedroom and reconfiguring it into a nursery.

Life moves quickly...

Baby Class!

On Tuesday I hit 27 weeks and in most books/references that means third trimester! (in some references, 28 weeks is the beginning of the 3rd trimester).

There is no denying the fact that there is a baby in there. I am feeling movements all the time, as well as a lot of pelvic pain/pressure. As mentioned in my previous post, I am just chalking it up being pregnant. My gait has definitely changed, I've become more of a slow and deliberate mover. I try not to sit for too long as when I do move it's painful. As well as when I get up from bed, it's painful right at first.

Tonight Ben and I started our birth class, this is a four part series over the next month that will give us some information and tools to help with the birth. There are 5 other couples in the class with us, we seem to be due the latest out of all of them. Some are due in the middle of August. I don't know, when I heard that it just seemed so close. The instructor had us go around and introduce ourselves, she wanted us all to say one positive thing about this pregnancy. Most of the "students" laughed. I made eye contact with a woman next to us and her and I were just eye rolling all the time. It was quite hilarious.

Over the series we'll learn about labor and delivery and get a tour of the family center at the hospital. We also have separate classes planned on other topics which will hopefully get us started on being prepared for our little one! It's hard to believe that in 3 months we'll be having a baby! (And by we, I really mean me... let's get real about one thing, I am the one who's got to deliver this!)

Tuesday is 28 weeks for me and my dreaded glucose test. I have received a lot of feedback from my readers, thank you. It's just one of those things, and if I have gestational diabetes, well then I do. But I am going to do whatever I can to make sure that my baby and I stay happy and healthy.

Doctor's Appt Update

So I had my appt with my doctor yesterday (actually another doc in the office... we got to rotate through them all to at least meet with each one) And she measures me and says that I am "measuring big" I asked, how big. She said that I was measuring 31 weeks. I am 26 weeks and a few days.

A whole month ahead! I am/was/still is getting nervous about this.

The doctor said that she would talk to my regular doctor and that I might be scheduled for an ultrasound to check the baby's size.

I know that larger babies, is sometimes related to gestational diabetes. And my glucose test isn't for another 2 weeks. So now I am even more concerned about gestational diabetes. I am also aware that both my brother and I were large babies so that would also lead me to believe that I may be predisposed to having large babies as well.

According to their office, I am only up 7 pounds. But by my scale at home I am up 20 pounds. Which I am inclined to "believe" more since I weigh myself at the same time every few days, rather than different times of days on different scales in their office.

Also I've developed a reoccurring pain in my pelvic mound area (TMI!! sorry) and when walking it will radiate into my SI joint (butt area) Oh does it hurt! So I talked to the doc about it and she said, that it sounds typical, when the pelvis takes on more of the baby's/uterus weight and the bones start to soften in preparation for delivery.. I asked if the "joy" stage was over and she said yes, and you've most likely entered the waddling stage!

Oh goodie! I am so glad that we went to North Carolina LAST weekend... as I can't even begin to think about being in the car for more than just a few quick errands.

Weight a minute and birthday

So I stepped on the scale today, for being 25 weeks pregnant I am up 16 pounds overall. I am coming to the harsh realization that I will be over 350 pounds soon. This I admit, is very hard for me. I know that I am pregnant and that it happens, that I shouldn't get hung up on a number, but I am. My baby is happy and healthy and letting my know that he/she is in there.

I think my weight number complex is more so because I am concerned with gestational diabetes and I have my glucose testing looming. My doc says that there isn't much one can do to prevent it, but I have read that overweight/obese women are more prone to it.

Also looming over my head is my upcoming birthday, and my 30's (29 plus 1 if you as me...). As we get older it's more difficult to loose and keep off the weight. I know that I am going to have to work really hard post baby to not only loose the pregnancy weight, but also shed some of the weight previously. I am sure that breastfeeding and taking care of a newborn will greatly increase my activity level.

Although this is the heaviest I've ever been, I know there are people out there who are heavier. I feel like this is something that I have a good handle on, just occasionally have the minor freak out about.

On a more positive note, I will say that being pregnant has made my cravings for water increase, there are days that it's all I drink. Some days I prefer room temp water, other days I want it ice cold. Kind of odd, but in a good way. I am not going to fight THOSE cravings! I don't feel like I get enough in sometimes. 

Road Trip to North Carolina!

On Thursday evening Ben and I will be taking off for North Carolina. My baby brother is graduating college and I couldn't be more proud of him. So the family is all getting together to celebrate his accomplishment.

This is probably the last trip/vacation that Ben and I will take as a couple! With baby due in September we are running out of time!Very exciting things going on.

The last time I saw my brother was for my wedding in October, and the last time I've been down to North Carolina has been years. So needless to say we are both excited about getting to see and spend some time with one another.

Since I am pregnant we'll be driving down and taking lots of pit stops and breaks in order to stay comfortable. Thursday night we will be leaving late, so we opted to grab a hotel in Pennsylvania. We chose one close to Centralia, PA so on Friday morning we could go visit (at least drive through) the mostly abandoned mining town that is still has a fire burning underground since the 1960's. Ben and I are really interested in the weird/odd type things and this is something we are both interested in at least seeing with our own eyes. We figured it was a good place to stop for the night and would give us something to see.

Then Friday we will spend the majority of the day driving the rest of the way to North Carolina. Obviously taking breaks as necessary. Saturday and Sunday morning will be spent with Lindsay and Nick as well as my parents. We are taking dad out for Father's Day brunch on Sunday. It'll be nice to spend some quality time with dad as well as the family.

Sunday afternoon we'll head back north. Again stopping frequently for breaks. We are going to try and make it to Maryland, staying outside Baltimore Sunday night. Monday we are hoping to meet up with Steve from Running on Awesome or @SteveGrayFTW on twitter, for a little "fake life meets real life" meetup. Steve and I have become great online friends (2/3's of Team Awesome!) and then finally make our way back home by Monday night.

It's a whirlwind weekend, but I am hopeful that everything works out. I am also hoping to have lots of pictures to show for our trip! Most of all I am proud of my brother for accomplishing this. I don't think I could have done what he did. Holding down both work and school and finding a balance, that takes a lot of determination. With all the sacrifices he's made, I am hoping that he is well rewarded.

25 Weeks down, 15 to go!

Today (Tuesday) I am now 25 weeks pregnant, holy cow! Even typing in makes it more real to me. I have my monthly OB appointment next week. This will be my last monthly appointment. Beyond that, I am now dropping to appointments every 2 weeks!

According to the bump, Baby L is the size of an cauliflower, average size: 13.6-14.8 inches and 1.5-2.2 pounds!

Just in the last few days (since the weekend) I've really started feeling more of Baby L. And even have seen/felt movements on the outside! Ben and my stepmom have both seen the movements, Ben is still waiting to catch it (feel it). It feels exactly as I thought it would. Like an alien trying to come out of me!

There are days where my feet swell and are huge at the end of the day. I just prop my feet up and try to keep the swelling down.

If you follow me on facebook, you would know that I had a moment of clumsiness. I was coming home from an event, and I was walking up my stairs, well on the last step I must have not lifted my leg high enough and my flip flop caught on the lip of the step! I stumbled forward, thought I was going to save it, but then ate it big time! I came down hard on one knee, then the other. I used my hands to break my fall and protect my belly, but my head crashed into the door.

It was a glorious fall, I wish it was on camera, I would have posted it for all to see here.

Since Sunday, I've been nursing a sore knee (the one I came down hard on) and a tender spot on my head, above my hair line.

Graceful I am not.I'll be in a plastic bubble before this pregnancy is over.

Memorial Day Weekend

As we do every year, a bunch of friends and their families gather at the Saco River Camping Area, in North Conway, NH for a weekend of fun. Being almost 6 months pregnant, for me, this year was more about resting and relaxing.

There was the what seems to now be annual canoe trip down the river, I didn't want to chance it being so inexperienced with canoeing, especially on a river. So I opted to stay back at the site and watch my friend's dog.

We did some shopping, the North Conway outlets are right across the street from the campground so really, it's a no brainer! Although I will admit, I did VERY well this year. And only bought baby clothes.

Also we had some friends join us! new to our camping area, but old friends... we always love to see more! It was a great time and everyone got along. It's a great weekend where families can spend some quality time together but at the same time us friends can get together as well. It's great that our children are becoming friends with one another and they actually look forward to the trip every year.

New this year for our site was a pop up camper! It's my friend's camper, but she graciously said that we could stay in it with her and her daughter. Since I didn't really know how it was going to work out or how comfortable I would be, I asked Ben to also bring his tent. So it ended up working out that Ben slept in his tent and Tricia, her daughter Kaylee and me all stayed in the pop up. Ben was a trooper about it, since he had to haul the camper up there and pretty much do 90% of the set up for it. He dealt with a 2 year old and 2 very pregnant women.... he gets a gold star in my book!

Each morning, Kaylee would get up early and Tricia and I would entertain her in the pop up. Eventually she'd want to go outside so we taught her to go wake Ben up... it was the cutest to see her sneak up on Ben's tent to wake him. Her belly laughs made me smile. That girl is such a joy! And growing up quickly, using words and making sentences, she lets us know what she wants, there is no guessing about that! 

One thing that made me realize just how pregnant I am, was when I'd have to go to the bathroom (especially at night) and waking up to pee... oh man, that bathroom seemed the farthest away. And it was a pregnant hustle shuffle down to the bathhouse! I'd felt like there was times that I wasn't going to make it!

We enjoyed the vacation so much when we rebooked for next year, we extended our trip by a few days. We are hoping that Tricia's husband can join us for at least part of it. It will also give us a few days on our own (just our family and then Tricia's) to go do some other stuff. Our other friends have school aged children so they have to go back to school. I would like to take some extra time and have our families enjoy the long(er) weekend to do some more stuff up that way.

I am already looking forward to next year and having two more little ones to introduce to the joys of camping!

The most annoying...

Th only real symptom of pregnancy that has stuck around since the beginning is my acne/breakouts. While camping this weekend my dad was like "oh, did a bug bite you on your face?" I said "No, that is my acne..."

Ugh. It's all over my forehead and I have some nasty breakouts on my face, below my lip and chin area. In addition to that I also have some areas on the front of my chest as well as my back. I am just a mess. It's hard to want to take cute bump pictures when I don't feel so cute.

But I am 23 weeks as of yesterday, only 17 more to go! Things are progressing right along. I am dreading my glucose test on July 3rd.

And I stepped on the scale yesterday and so far I am only up 10 pounds overall. Considering that I am 23 weeks along, I would say that I am doing fair.

We had our first baby class last week, it was called "Your Pregnant Body" and basically talked about how being pregnant affects every part of your body. A lot of what was discussed I had already heard or read somewhere, but since Ben came, it was nice for him to hear it as well.

Halfway hump!

I am 22 weeks today! My OB's office is still having a debate about my due date, it's fluctuating between 9/22 and 9/25. So I've been sticking to the latter of the two dates, just in case.

Technically, I was at the halfway point at 20 weeks, but I am slow at updating the blog.

I am feeling good about things, I had my monthly check-up on Monday and the doc says that everything looked good and things were progressing on target. I have my dreaded glucose test on July 3rd, but at least my cousin will be here, so she can come with me. It won't be ALL that bad then!

Most of my symptoms have resolved. As of late, as in the last week, my "allergies" have been terrible. I have never had allergies before in my life, but I guess I have pregnancy induced allergies. Well actually it was explained to me like this. You see, when you get pregnant your body increases the production of all your bodily fluids, which also would include mucus. Hence why most women complain about feeling stuffy during pregnancy. Well add just a little hint of allergen (ie pollen) to that and it can just hit you like a ton of bricks! Which is exactly what happened. It got really bad that the top of my jaw and top row of my teeth hurt/ached. I was taking Zrytec for about 5 days, but I haven't had any in the last 2 days. I am doing alright for now, but I plan on keeping my Zrytec close by, just in case of a flare up.

My other symptoms have been heartburn (only after eating acidic foods, OJ and tomato based) and swollen feet/ankles. I try to keep my feet as elevated as I can, but it doesn't always work, I do still need to function.

According to the doctor's office, I am on track for my weight, I believe that I am still down a pound according to my chart in their office. However according to my scale at home, I am up a little over 9 pounds. I am ok with this gain, but I don't want things to get out of control.

I am still getting the question, well what are you having? And people think I am weird when I say, we don't want to know, we'll find out in September. Most think I am weird. But there are some who have been "good for you". In that they know that there are few surprises in life and this is one thing that we can control, so we chose to. Others have said, well how do you plan... I said, easy, the colors yellow, green and brown are all cute on anyone!

I am very much looking the pregnant part, there is really no denying it anymore. I have been feeling the internal movements, nothing external yet, but I know that it's coming within the next month.

I am looking forward to camping this weekend as we always do for Memorial Day weekend, it's great to be around my friends and family and spend some time with them. The weather is looking fantastic, yet again (knock on wood) we have been very fortunate the last 3-4 years.

What are your Memorial Day weekend plans?

House Hunt

I've been meaning to write this post but I didn't know what to write.

At first, I was upset. But now, I am better/ok with it.

Here's what happened. We saw a house that we both loved. We saw so much potential in this house, I already knew which bedroom would be mine and the babies room, Ben's office, etc. So afterwards, Ben and I sat down and took a hard look at our finances.

We realized that we can't swing it, financially. We aren't eligible for any first time home buyer assistance programs. So that means that we would have to come up with the full 20% down to avoid PMI.

So we are going to go with our backup plan, to stay put in our apartment and save our money. Thankfully our place is big enough that we can swing having a baby here. It's not ideal, but it's the right decision to make.

We know what it costs to live in our apartment, we've been here long enough. With a house, we don't know all the expenses and we didn't want to become house poor.

We talked with our lovely realtor, and she thinks that we are making a smart decision. She also said that she will keep sending us listings and if we want to go see anything, she'll arrange it for us.

At first, I cried... more so because of the hormones, but I was upset, I had done what you shouldn't do, and go and fall in love with a house. Which may I say, is hard to do when you need to picture yourself living there? I called one of my BFF's that night and vented to her. But the more time that has passed, I've gotten more comfortable with it.

And it is the smart/right decision. Now that it's been made, I must say it's been kind of a relief for us, we have been waiting on a lot of decisions because we didn't know where we were going to be living. Now that it's decided, we can focus on setting up our second bedroom as our nursery. Which has gotten me excited.

I am happy with our decision. Life is going to be filled with tough decisions. I love that my husband and I can talk and rationalize things. To weigh the pros and cons of things and try to make a reasonable decision.

Weighing In...

So things are progressing normally. Throughout my entire pregnancy I have been very cognoscente of my weight. It is of concern to me being overweight to begin with. The day I found out I was pregnant I stepped on my scale at home and weighed in at 329. I had my monthly OB appointment on Thursday, before going in, I weighted in at 335.

I weighed in at the office at 331. I asked my doctor how much weight have I gained since starting, and she said, actually I've lost weight. According to their files, I am down 4 pounds. And according to my home scale I've gained 6 pounds.

Normally I would take this as a win, but I know that scales are different and can fluctuate. So I am going to keep on weighing in on my home scale and use that as my record. Better to be safe. I am not dieting, in fact, quite the opposite, I eat what I want, when I want and haven't deprived my body of anything. (well aside from booze!)

Other than that, baby is growing normally. We also had an ultrasound on Tuesday as well. That tech and doctor said everything looked normal. I guess my pregnancy is going "normal". And I am ok with that.

My next big hurdle to pass will be my glucose test. But I still have a few more weeks until that.

18 Weeks!

All too quickly time is flying by! As of Saturday I am 18 weeks pregnant. I've got an ultrasound and doctor's appointment this week. And I've got to be sure to let the technician know that we do NOT want to know the gender. Hopefully they don't let anything slip. I hope that everything is normal and progressing fine. I can't believe we are almost at the halfway point.

I am definitely showing now. There isn't any hiding it anymore. I've had some feelings, like flutters or fake gas as most of the blogs/websites report. It's a weird feeling for sure. I am still burping a lot. There is a lot of gas involved with pregnancy. I never imagined how much it changes the REST of your body.

We are also looking at some houses. Everything we've looked at has been a HUGE step up from the first house we looked at, the one with the holes in the walls and was basically destroyed. As we thought, some of the houses in our price range have come on the market only to quickly go under agreement. So we are trying to keep ourselves as free as we can in order to go see houses at a moment's notice.

I love our realtor, she is great to work with and really gets us and what we are looking for. But she's also not hesitant to give her opinion about a property. And she's got the experience to back it up.

One frustration has been one house that we all like and want to see, has been horrible about setting up a showing. We've tried for 3 Sundays now with no dice. So we are hoping that on Friday we'll be able to see it. We really like this property and where it's located, so we are hoping we can at least get inside and see it to see if it's for us.

The one house we saw today, I will say, was very nice. We are waiting to hear back, as there are 2 other offers in on the house, and we don't want to get into a bidding war with other potential buyers. It's easy to say not to get emotionally tied up into a house, but it's hard to actually live that. Even harder when pregnant and hormonal.

I can see myself living in that house, it's very nice and only needs a small amount of work done to make it liveable. And some additional projects to be done over the next few years. Enough to keep Ben busy, that's for sure. And the neighborhood and town is quite lovely and would be great for raising kids.

Here's to hoping we can find something! I'd like to be moved in before this baby comes. Ben and I both agreed that if we aren't closed or close to closing by late July that we'll probably wait until after the baby before trying again. It would really suck to try and move while so close to the baby coming.

Be very quiet! We are hunting houses!

So I didn't win the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot last week. Le sigh, Ben and I had our dream houses all picked out, his and hers of course.

But what we did do is meet with a realtor on Saturday. We drove by a couple houses, and there was one that we really liked. So when we met with the realtor later on, we asked to see it. We were able to get in and see the place, it was a foreclosed house and the previous owners trashed it. Most of the walls had big holes in them, some of the bedroom doors were kicked in half. What would have been the master bedroom had a deadbolt on it! It was just really in rough shape. And we came to the conclusion that it has the potential to be a beautiful house, but it would take a fair amount of money and time. Two things that we are limited on. So we passed.

Our realtor this morning sent us a couple more listings, Ben and I liked the looks of them so I believe the plan is to go check them out on Saturday. 

I am not a big fan of house hunting, I want to find a house but it's just trying to find something that fits what we want and what we need. For the right price of course. My biggest sticking point has been schools. I want to make sure where ever we are that we are in a good school district.

But both of us would like to find a house and be settled before the baby comes. Our apartment right now is big enough where we could have a baby there, but it's not ideal. That being said, we aren't going to buy a house just for the sake of being in a house, we want to make sure its the right situation for us.

We are excited about this next step, but we want to be cautious and make sure it's the right step for us.

First Quarter of 2012 Update

For the original post, you can go here. For the last quarterly update, you can go here.

Current List: 

Starting Date: Friday January 1st, 2010 Ending Date: Friday September 28th, 2012

1) Spend a rainy day watching films in my PJ's
2) Try two new cookie recipes this Christmas (Brown Sugar Cookies & Chocolate Crunch Balls)
3) Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
4) Get married
5) Go skydiving
6) Learn to knit
7) Organize my closet
8) lose 15 pounds
9) Go on a cruise
10) Go whitewater rafting
11) buy a house ( In process!!)
12) See a Broadway show
13) spend a day at the spa 
14) Lose 5 pounds
15) Own an iPhone
16) Try a new (and possibly frightening) food 
17) Watch two movies at a cinema in the same day.
18) Influence a person to make a day zero list
19) go fly a kite
20) Pay off at least one credit card
21) Have a housewarming party
22) Floss every night for a month
23) Tie a note to a balloon and let it go
24) Go sledding
25) Lose 10 Pounds
26) start a family - This is a work in progress! Still Growing and due right around the end of this list!
27) help a stranger
28) Have a sleepover party 
 29) Have a friend choose a complete outfit for me 
30) Play a new board game
31) Travel by train (Did the Conway Scenic Railway Trip, but I'd like to do another)
32) Make homemade bread
33) Go to a casino
34) Take at least 5 photos a day for a month
35) Eliminate non-fitting clothing from my wardrobe
36) Save $5000
37) Read 100 books (45/100)
38) Compose a new list of 101 things to do in 1001 days
39) For every task I do not complete, donate $1 to charity
40) Put aside $5 for every completed task
41) Go to a Patriots game
42) Drink nothing but water for 2 weeks
43) Watch the sunrise at the beach
44) Host a giveaway on my blog
45) Organize photos and get and stay caught up with my scrapbooking
46) Climb Mount Washington
47) Attend a hot yoga class
48) Do 100 situps for a month (0/30)
49) Ask for someone else's advice and take it
50) Give a stranger a compliment
51) Write down something positive about myself for 30 days straight
52) Have “date night” one night of the week for 1 month (4/4)
53) Work out faithfully 3x a week for 2 months
54) Take a trip to Las Vegas
55) No swearing for a day x12 (12/12)
56) Play a game of 18-hole golf 
57) Put change in someone’s expired parking meter 
 58) Take the Cat ferry to Canada
59) Have a weekend getaway for SO and I
60) Start our own Christmas tradition
61) Get my HAM radio license
62) Participate in a 5K (run/walk)
63) Make my own candles
64) Climb Cadillac Mountain
65) Learn at least 50 ASL signs
66) Go one weekend "Unplugged" no phone/Internet
67) Send/Give 100 cards “just because.” (43/100)
68) Leave SO a love note/note of encouragement/surprise email 1x a week for 2 months
69) Complete 3 – 1500 piece or more jigsaw puzzles (0/3)
70) Visit 5 new states not previously in (driving through doesn't count) (2/5) - NJ, HI
71) Participate in a 10K (run/walk)
72) help a friend in need
73) take a class (work related)
74) Have one day off per week for 1 month
75) Make SO breakfast in bed 
76) Bring coffee in for the boys at work
77) hang pictures/art on walls
78) Buy flowers/edible arraignments for someone.
79) Be able to buy clothing in the regular women's section
80) Invest my money better
81) borrow books from the library; instead of buying them 
82) get a makeover to include makeup!
83) Try a new recipe once a week for 1 month
84) Call one cousin per week until all Bridle Cousins have been spoken to
85) Host a girls night at my house 
86) Host a couple's night
87) Prepare my will
88) Take a pole dancing class
89) Travel to Nantucket / Martha's Vineyard
90) Visit my grandmother at least once a month for a year (12/12)
91) plan a couples camping trip - I love our Memorial Day Weekend camping tradition with friends!
92) Play Bingo with friends
93) Host a transit party
94) See an old friend once per month for one year (11/12) - Coming up, hopefully catching up with one of my old co-workers, Ms. Holly!!
95) See Rocky Horror at midnight showing
96) Go and shoot a gun at a firing range
97) To get a physical each year
98) To see a UNH/UMaine Hockey Game
99) To kiss the Cat at UNH
100) To go to a Red Sox / Yankees game
101) To complete this list in less than 1001 days

Ugh, I've only completed four tasks this quarter! And I've come to the realization that not every task will be completed. Making a baby has kind of put some of these on hold (like sky diving!) But I do plan on adding it to my next Day Zero list because it is something I want to accomplish.

Aside from starting my family, I am most excited about buying a house! But I will get into that in another blog post!

I ask (many times) for advice from my friend, who's pregnant with her second child and has been through this before, for advice, and many times I've taken her advice, she has been a huge asset to me!