Pregnancy Journal: 36 Weeks

Here is what I look like this week:

Just kidding :) This is only what I feel like. Here is my real picture:



Regular, every day life is getting pretty difficult. And uncomfortable. It is just so hard to do things any more! Just getting dressed takes so much effort and planning and I am usually out of breath by the time I am done. All I really want to do is stay in bed and eat all the time, but even that gets uncomfortable after awhile. I told Anthony that I really need to get something to distract me for these last few weeks, because it is not going to be pleasant if all I can think about everyday is how uncomfortable I am!
 
This past weekend was pretty eventful. I had some significant physical signs of my cervix dialating (I won't go into details, but take my word for it) and I had an entire day of regular braxton hicks contractions. I was pretty sure that they weren't real contractions because of where I felt them and because they stayed pretty regular and didn't increase in time or intensity. Still, having contractions every 10 or 15 minutes from 10AM to 11PM is nothing if not a wake up call! Number one, ouch! Number two, I'm not ready yet! We aren't packed for the hospital, things aren't tied up at work, etc... And of course, Anthony hasn't taken boards yet. He is scheduled to take his exam next Tuesday, so the baby just has to stay in until then. I don't think Anthony can handle the stress of making sure he passes this exam AND a newborn. Come to think of it, I don't think I can handle that either, so we are crossing our fingers, toes, and legs hoping that he he stays put for just a little bit longer :)

Cookie Wars

For those of you that don't know, Anthony LOVES cookies. Especially double stuffed mint oreo cookies. They are his absolute favorite!!! That in itself is not all that unusual, I mean who doesn't love Oreos right? Unfortunately Anthony also has a secretive, protective hoarding tendancy when it comes to his sweets, especially the Oreos. He will buy a bag of cookies and then lovingly savor them for months, completely happy with the fact that they are in the house should he want them, but rations them out like small treasures that can never be replaced. Of course, I see a bag of a cookies and I think, "Ooo, cookies. I think I will have some." And then I have some. This frustrates Anthony to no end!! Apparently I not only have too many too quickly, but I don't appreciate or savor them appropriately so I'm not really worthy of them anyway (!)  I don't know how many fights or "discussions" have been started because he is so protective of his cookies.

In fact, in the first few months of pregnancy when I was sick to my stomach all of the time, I happened to have, count them, two (shocking!) oreos one after the other. Anthony actually looked at me and asked me, "Are you sure you need to eat those?" implying to a hormonal, bloated pregnant woman that she really didn't need those extra calories. So I did what any rational person would do. I threw the cookies at him and refused to talk to him for the entire night. Looking back, I know that he didn't mean to insinuate anything about my weight or diet but apparently he was so distressed that I was eating his cookies he lost his mind and said whatever came to him first.

When we moved to our new apartment at the beginning of December, we went grocery shopping and bought two bags of Oreos. Just last week we got to the end of the first bag and I turned to Anthony and said that he better get out the second bag (I figured he had hidden them somewhere as usual). He scoffed and said that he had assumed that the bag in the cupboard was mine and that he had taken "his" bag and put them away. I demanded to know where he had hidden them and he just laughed and laughed while I searched the kitchen for hiding places. I didn't find them and pretended like I didn't care and that I had given up. Ever since then, whenever I was home alone, I would search diligently for those cookies. There is no way that he was going to get away with hiding them from me! Finally I found them hidden in a cookie jar that I thought was still full of different cookies. So, I took them out and replaced them with this ransom note:

Now for the fun part! Since Anthony waits so long to eat his cookies, I wasn't sure how long it would take for him to find the note. Finally about three days later, I got a text message from him while I am at work. He finally discovered the missing cookies! Of course, I couldn't let him off that easy. Later that afternoon I sent him an email with some ransom pictures of different people on campus eating his cookies:

Hi Honey!

I know you are missing your cookies, but don’t worry about them. They are being enjoyed by MANY other people:

Skip Holtz loved chomping down on a quality Oreo:

Of course, Skip isn’t greedy. He wanted to make sure Rocky the Bull got some too:

A cookie made its way to subway…

And another one really wanted to be eaten by the food court workers:

After having seen that, another cookie was sure it wanted to be eaten by grateful student workers:

So that is why you don’t hide cookies from your pregnant wife. They end up being eaten by EVERYONE except for you!! The remaining cookies are being kept in a secure location until I feel that the ransom has been met sufficiently :)

Love,
Your Honey

It took all weekend, but I finally gave in and gave him his cookies back, safe and sound :) Wife=1, Husband=0

Nursery Update

Now that we have settled into our new apartment and I have had my baby shower, the nursery is finally starting to take shape! I feel like we have so much stuff already, and everyone has been so generous with giving us things that I still can't believe that I am finding more things to shop for :) Somehow, I keep thinking of things to get, although luckily the list is pretty small.

Here are some pictures of how things are looking:

I got this crib at a garage sale for $30!! It is a convertible crib that turns into a toddler bed and then becomes the headboard for a twin sized bed. I looked it up after I bought it and found out that it had a recall on it (which happens ALL the time to baby stuff), so I sent in a form to the manufacturer and free of charge they sent us replacements for three of the four sides of the crib and a kit to make the drop side stationary. So, the majority of the crib is brand new now! The bedding set I received as a shower gift and I bought the mobile from a consignment store for $10.

I have a bookshelf on each side of the crib and this happens to be the main one where I have been storing smaller items. As you can see the entire bottom half is devoted to my diaper and wipe stash. I started finding free/cheap deals with my coupons early on in my pregnancy and I feel confident that I am set for diapers at least for a little while. I also have two large moving boxes in the closet full of more wipes because I figured I will always be able to use those regardless of size (unlike diapers). I've decided to use the other bookshelf as a makeshift dresser and keep different categories of clothing in cute baskets (a basket for onesies, a basket for socks, etc...) I'm going to keep all the clothes of his current size in the baskets and the rest of the clothes in a storage bin under the crib.

I am actually really proud of this changing table. I took a piece of furniture that we already had, took off the top part of it and secured a thick changing table pad with high sides to the top (that I got for $2 at a garage sale). I am going to use the top drawer for all of my diaper essentials so they are close at hand and I used a crib sheet folded in half as a makeshift cover for the changing pad.

This is another fun garage sale find. I've heard from multiple people that their baby absolutely loved their bouncer and I got this perfect rainforest/monkey one for $20. (It costs $60 new)

This is the walk in closet in the nursery where we have been stashing all of the larger things. The majority of everything in here has been given to us. See what I mean? People are awesome!!! I still can't believe how generous our friends, family, and even some acquaintances have been.

Since this room will be doubling as our guest bedroom, I really wanted a futon that someone would actually want to sleep on. Luckily I found this one on craigslist. (What can't you find on craigslist? :) It has an extra thick mattress and is pretty comfortable. I made the green blanket that is on the back and I bought the mattress cover from walmart. As you can see, I've been using it as a staging area for all of the baby clothes (separated by size) which are all washed and ready for wear.

So there you go! There is still some more decorating (read nesting) that I plan on doing in there, but it is all coming together.

Pregnancy Journal: 34 Weeks

Time is just moving right along! I can't believe that I only have 6 weeks left until my due date!!! I was talking to my mom on the phone today and I was telling her that I actually am starting to feel really good about about labor and delivery. I don't feel that bad or uncomfortable yet, I know that my complaints are relatively small but more than anything I think I am just ready to not be pregnant any more. Like I told my mom, "I'm done being pregnant now, I'm ready to move on to being a mom".

We started our birthing class last week and it was interesting. We got to see two videos of a birth, which were informative but not too surprising since I've seen a few in the other birthing videos I've watched over the past few months. We started watching one of them right at the beginning of the class and since Anthony was a little bit late, he walked in and sat down right as the baby was crowning! You should have seen how wide his eyes got!! After the video we went around the room introducing ourselves and when Anthony introduced himself he said, "I'm Anthony, the husband. It's my fault we're here *insert big Lagana grin*" Could that man be any more excited/proud about becoming a dad? :) One of the funnier things about this birthing class is that we spent a good 30 minutes talking about nutrition and what was good for you to eat and what foods you were supposed to stay away from in pregnancy. Ummm, almost all of the moms in the class are only a month away from their due date. Isn't it a little late by now? Just saying.

This past week we also got released from our calling as cub scout den leaders (although we are still co-teaching a primary class). I had mixed feelings at first. On the one hand, we really had a lot of fun with the boys and it felt like we finally were in a "groove" with what we needed to do every week and with all of the meetings we needed to go to so it was kind of sad to leave that behind. On the other hand, it was getting pretty hard for me to help control six energetic boys for any period of time or to spend time after work planning activities, so it put a lot of responsibility on Anthony. We are planning on still making some "guest appearances" at meetings and events just to see how everyone is doing :)

Goals for 2011

Last week someone asked me what my new year's resolutions were and I honestly couldn't think of any. Not that I don't think that they are a good idea, I guess it just hadn't occurred to me to set any for myself since I know that my world is going to be turned upside down in a few months! But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that I had things in the back of my mind that I kept thinking, "I should start doing that" or "That is a good idea" and I decided I could take at least a couple of them and officially turn them into my goals for 2011. So, in no particular order,

1) Read the newspaper every Sunday. I get the newspaper delivered every Sunday for the coupons and I always just pull the coupons out and toss the rest. Whenever someone asks me if I've heard about this issue or read about that current event, I always feel so uninformed when I have to say "Huh?". Since I don't watch the news, I figured that the least I could do is read the newspaper once a week before I toss it and be informed about current events beyond the headlines on yahoo mail :)
2) Stick to a cleaning schedule. I've started to really focus my efforts on cleaning a little bit each day and so far I've been very consistent. (Yay!) It may just be me nesting, but I am hoping that I will at least establish a habit that I can try to keep up this year.
3) Lose my baby weight. I feel a little weird talking about losing weight while I am still gaining it and my baby is still in there (I promise I want you to grow!!!) but I know that after he comes into the world that I definitely want to get back to lifting weights, trying out different workouts, and especially being able to fit into my pre-baby clothes!

That is it. A short, manageable list, especially for someone like me who loves to think of a million different things to do to improve. (Coming up with ideas, awesome! Following through, not so much). Hopefully at this time next year I will look back on these goals and think about what a breeze they were to stick to!

Pregnancy Journal: 32 Weeks

Now that the holidays are over, the new year has started, and I am back to work, I am starting to panic a little about how quickly my due date is approaching. Where did the time go? Last night I was grouching around the house, thinking about how unprepared I feel. How am I going to know what to do when labor starts? What is going to happen? Will everything go smoothly? Why do so many books say completely different things about childbirth? (Seriously, I actually read in a book last night that childbirth is painless if you do it "right". Talk about pressure!) I keep telling myself that I need to relax and just be excited about becoming a parent, and it works for half a minute and then I am back to worrying.

Anthony gingerly tries to remind me that it is in my perfectionist nature to worry and stress about doing things "right" and that I am completely uncomfortable with new things unless I know everything there is to know first so that I don't make mistakes. Which, I know, is something I am going to need to learn to let go of as a parent. Like for real. I think I need to focus on praying a little more and planning a little less (I plan obsessively when I am stressed) and I know I will feel better :)

I had my 32 week doctor's appointment today. It was my first appointment that Anthony was unable to come to :( Everything still looks good, I am measuring exactly on target, weight is good, heartbeat is good (and cute!), blood pressure is good and I don't have any unusual complaints. They took 4 big tubes of blood from me today and I am SO proud of myself for what a trooper I was! I got a little sweaty since it took so long, but  I didn't pass out and I didn't stress about it the entire night before since I knew they were going to stick me. I guess you really can get used to anything.

If you couldn't tell from the maternity pictures, my belly has arrived and it is here to stay!! I was laughing with Anthony the other day because it seemed like overnight people completely stopped saying things like "Wow, you're how far along? You look so small" and I've started getting "You are due any day now right?". I've also finally started having strangers ask me about the baby or mention it to me before I say anything. I'm officially out of the "Is she?" stage!

Parkes/Fillon Christmas 2010

On Christmas day, Anthony & I left from the Tampa airport to meet up with my side of the family at my sister's house in Ohio. The snow was so beautiful, but it was so cold!!! I tried to leave some room in my suitcase so that I could do some shopping while I was up there, but Anthony kept seeing I had space and would fill it up with more sweaters and warm clothing. That man does not like to be cold!

We had such a fun and relaxing time, visiting and enjoying the holiday. We laughed so much and of course, there was lots of good food courtesy of my sister. She knows her way around the kitchen, that is for sure! I opted for the more leisurely itinerary while we were there: I mostly rested, read my book, watched television, or went shopping. Anthony wanted a little more excitment so he ended up playing in the snow, visiting a cool frozen lake, and even went to a hockey game where he saw several fights break out. Very manly. 

On our last day there, my sister, who happens to be a professional photographer, was awesome enough to take some more maternity pictures for us! This kid is already getting ridiculously spoiled and he hasn't even come out yet :) I had so much fun looking over different posing options with my sister and getting to watch her start to edit the pictures. She is so talented, and I am so lucky to have a big sister like her!!

See? With such a cute picture like this, how can we not call him James?

My sister had the idea of taking this shot with Anthony "peeking" around my belly. I love his expressions in our photos, they are always so genuine!

It is still a little surprising to me to see how much my body has changed in the past 8 months. It truly is amazing.

Anthony trying to listen to the baby :)

Aren't those the cutest little shoes you've ever seen?

I love this photo with the bow. I never would have thought to use a brown ribbon, but the color turned out perfect!!

Lagana Christmas 2010

This Christmas was filled with family time for me and Anthony. On December 23rd we drove to Anthony's sister's house in Port St. Lucie to have our Christmas with the Lagana side of the family. It was such a blast!!! We had so much fun watching our nieces and nephews open their presents. All of the adults tried to make each present seem like the most exciting thing in the world and I had to laugh when I noticed that my brother in law didn't even wait to see what it was, but would immediately make a big deal about whatever was being opened. He would exclaim: "OH MY GOODNESS, THAT IS SO COOL!!!!!!" or something along those lines.

We ate a lot of good food and then my sister-in-law, Happy, was generous enough to do a maternity photo shoot with us. She did such an awesome job!!! I totally love the pictures she took of us and I am amazed at how much work she put into editing and getting us the pictures so quickly. Thank you so much Happy, you are the best! Here are my favorites:



I can't get over my belly in this picture. It just looks so big!




I kept saying how I didn't personally care for the maternity pictures where the couple is looking very seriously at the belly, but I liked how this one turned out since we were smiling :)




I loved how this picture turned out, but it was extremely uncomfortable down on the ground like that! Plus I kept trying to make sure that my belly was pushed out since it would kind of disappear when I laid down.





I thought that this photo would end up as a goofy outtake when we took it, but I actually really like it.





I love, love, love this photo!!!





Anthony swears that he has gained a noticeable amount of weight since I've been pregnant. I keep telling him that until he gains as much as I have, then he hasn't gained enough!




Every time someone has asked us about what name we have picked out for the baby the answer has been that we are pretty sure it will be James, after my dad. Now that we have taken this photo (and another similar photo to be displayed in my next post) I think we can finally say that we have decided on James for sure!




This is picture is so sweet and artistic to me. I can't believe it is of us and not a photo in a pregnancy magazine.