Not in Labor Yet......

The countdown is on.....okay it's been on for awhile actually. Since about mid-January really.....which definitely doesn't mean that I'm impatient or anything. Stop judging me.



I'm clearly not in labor yet, and I'm thinking that maybe I've made Ally Grace a little too comfortable in there. I've tried bribing her with candy, presents, clothes....all of which would work for me, but nope.....nothing.




I did find myself rashly making banana bread today, which is something I do often. Except not at all. I thought to myself, oh, maybe this is that crazy nesting thing you do right before you give birth......except that's RIGHT, I've had a little bit of crazy going on the whole time.





(Btw, John is threatening to make me skip up and down our street to try to jiggle her out, but I had to tell him that's not exactly how it works. And if it DID work, I would have a completely horrifying birth story, on par with the ones you see on I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. So, no. Not happening.)




Also, the word "jiggle" is kind of completely horrifying.





Last night, we decided to take advantage of the AWESOME fall weather and build a fire.....and what goes better with a fire than SMORES???? Definitely in my top 5 favorite foods. We had 3 different kinds: the Original Smore (if you don't know what this is, we have a serious problem),the "Symphony Smore" (substitute a Symphony Bar w/ toffee chips for the regular Hershey's milk chocolate), and the "Most Fabulous Smore of All Time" (using a TWIX bar instead of the boring milk chocolate one....is this not the greatest idea ever? Thank you, thank you, totally made that one up myself).




Here we are, about to s'more it up. Ew.

John and Jamey, gettin' their s'more on. And yes, I promise I won't ever say that again.


Finally, a list to sum up the rest of my random day:

1. Why are crock-pots such a nightmare to clean up? They're totally all "I'm a crock-pot, and it'll be so easy to make dinner if you use me," and then they kill you on the back end, when you are relentlessly scrubbing away at piles of caked on mess.

2. Leggings=a pregnant girls best friend. Especially a pregnant girl who wants to live in sweatpants at all times.

3. Also, if you're going to wear leggings, PLEASE make sure your shirt covers your rear end. Seriously. Not a good look on ANYONE if it doesn't.

4. Pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks=heaven.

5. I am BEYOND excited about Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office! I have only been waiting 4 and a half years for this. http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/09/30/video-behind-the-scenes-of-the-office-wedding/


Hopefully my next blog post will involve a BABY! If anyone has any great tips for bringing on labor, send them my way!

39 Weeks, Nursery Update, and Nostril Fun

Yesterday, I had my 39 week appointment.....holy cow, I can't even believe I am here already! John got to come with me for what is (hopefully) my last appointment. And yes, he re-enacted the "q-tips in the nostrils" moment while we waited for the midwife to see us. We considered having John dress up in the gown and get on the table as a joke, but I decided that it might not be a good move to annoy someone (yet!) who could potentially be delivering my baby in a few days.






Clearly, we are super-mature and ready to be parents.



According to the midwife, nothing much has changed with my labor status.....as in, I'm not actually IN labor yet. Apparently, I am now measuring at 34 weeks, when I am actually 39.5 weeks......SO, guess who got another ultrasound?! Fine with me, I love seeing the little monster!





She was just relaxing in there, sucking her thumb again. And if the ultrasound tech is right, she's got some chubby cheeks going on!






Perfect, we'll match.







This weekend, John and I went on dates and just relaxed.....we decided that since it could be our last weekend as just the two of us, we would make it all about what WE wanted to do. We stayed up late, slept in, ate out, watched GA football, and went on walks....it was pretty much perfect! And as much as this will make some of you throw up in your mouth just a little, John is my favorite person on the planet, so I literally never get tired of him.....







I mean, how could you get tired of THIS?










Probably my favorite part of the weekend was going to the restaurant where we had our first date (South City Kitchen), for what might have been our last pre-baby date.....it's one of our favorites, and we've celebrated some special events there, so it was definitely fitting.



Here we are, all dressed up and ready to go to South City. These days, I am choosing loose clothing over something tight every time!



(I mean, at least I managed to get out of my sweatpants for a few hours, right?)





So, a quick nursery update: it's FINISHED! Totally ready for AG to move in....huge relief! Here are some final photos of the nursery....enjoy!







What do you think? Will she like it? Who knows, by my next post, she might be living here!
Cross your fingers!

Single Digits, Cankles, and Marshmallow Toes

Excuse me, people, but did you notice that my countdown is now in the SINGLE digits!?!?! I am slightly freaking out at every twinge, wondering if I'm about to go into labor. I've managed to do an excellent job of avoiding all thoughts of labor/delivery for the past 9 months, and suddenly, it's all I CAN think about. Has anyone else experienced that?



I went to the OB the other day, and she said that everything is looking great. She checked to see if I'm dilated and effaced. Since I am prone to oversharing, I will stop myself from a TMI moment, and just say that things are on track. Apparently. Although, from what I understand, I shouldn't get too excited about any numbers that I'm told, b/c the baby's basically gonna come when she wants to come.


Stubborn, just like her dad. Okay, maybe more like her mom.



Anyway, the midwife I saw told me to just expect to be a week late, and that'll make it a nice surprise if I'm early. THANKS SO MUCH for those words of wisdom! That's EXACTLY what I wanted to hear on a day where the entire city is flooded, my power's out, and there's a MASSIVE tree down in my backyard. And I'm having a bad hair day. And, I've just learned that I've now gained 40lbs....and counting. Which incidentally, forced me to go eat a cinnamon roll.



By the way, did I mention that I rolled up to the doctor's office IN MY SWEATPANTS? This is so not okay. I saw the looks of pity that I got from all the cute pregnant girls waiting to see the doctor. Maybe one of them will nominate me for What Not To Wear.



I've really started to have some swelling over the last few days....I'm hoping at least 33 of those 40lbs is from water retention. Unlikely, but I can dream. Regardless, I look like the Michelin Man in my foot and ankle area.....or more accurately, in my cankle area. I call it the Marshmallow Toes look. It's really attractive, especially when I'm wearing flip-flops. Which is always. I'll see if I can get a good photo for your viewing enjoyment. Or, just to make you feel good about your own skinny ankles.

I'm encouraging like that.

Sweet Perfection

Okay, sadly, I'm not talking about my baby right now. Instead, I'm talking about the most perfectly delicious cupcake known to man: the pumpkin cupcake from Little Cake Bakery.

Seriously, stop it. Just stop it right now. It even has a candy corn pumpkin on top......I may or may not have brought half a dozen of them home with me. And I may or may not have eaten one for breakfast today.

Last week, my friend Jessica, brought over some onesies and a bib for Ally Grace. Let me preface by saying that Jessica is as much of a die-hard Twilight fan as I am (or a Twi-fan, if you're really in the know). If you aren't on board with that, then these might be slightly creepy to you.

Regardless, AG will be wearing them with pride, potentially to the New Moon premiere on November 20th. Dressed as Renesmee, while I am dressed as Bella. Okay, really I did not just go there. Except that I did. And now I will stop.

Also, I bought Ally Grace a Halloween outfit......not really a costume, but mainly more of an excuse to allow me to put her in this ridiculously cute skull cap. If they made one in my size, I'd totally rock it.

Under the 2 week mark, and counting down!

Sweatpants & Pregnancy Memories

It's basically an impossibility for me to be in my house at this point without having my sweatpants on. I feel irritated every time I have to actually get dressed in clothes that are remotely fitted, and pretty much run screaming to my closet for my sweatpants the minute I am back home.

I mean, I've always loved my sweats, but nowI have a totally irrational need to be wearing them at all times. And by all times, I mean, wearing them even in public places like my small group. Which I actually did last night....sorry, girls!

I think it has something to do with the fact that I just feel HUGE and uncomfortable 99.9% of the time. Don't be surprised if you see my sweatpants at the grocery store, at church, on a date....I am a straight up What Not To Wear case at this point.

Also, I realized today that I feel more tired than I literally ever have in my life. What's up with that?

Anyway, my friend Caroline did a blog post awhile back about her pregnancy memories, and I loved the idea! Since this pregnancy is in it's last days, AND since I am a shameless copycat, I wanted to document my own pregnancy memories. Here goes:

1. Taking my first pregnancy test, thinking I definitely wasn’t pregnant, finding a VERY faint 2nd line….

2. Quickly pulling out a spare test for round 2……is that really a 2nd line, or am I hallucinating?

3. Giving up my plans for a dramatic way of telling John, in favor of the “OMG, is this really a 2nd line?” approach.

4. Buying 6 more tests at Kroger, just to be SURE.

5. Telling our parents that they were going to be grandparents, and hearing the excitement and joy in their voices.

6. Sharing the good news with our best friends around 6 weeks…..(I’ve never been that great at keeping secrets, so there was no way we could wait til 12 weeks).

7. The YouTube video we did (thanks for helping Rod and Kristin) to announce to our small group....here's a photo of me with Kristin from that night.

8. Feeling super excited (and a little triumphant) that I didn’t have morning sickness at all….

9. Waking up on the first day of my seventh week with raging nausea that didn’t leave until around 14-15 weeks. UGH.

10. Calling Ally Grace my Little Monster the entire first trimester. Then, being reprimanded by my mom for calling her grandbaby a monster!

11. Existing on crackers, mashed potatoes, ramen noodles, French fries, and toast until I regained my appetite for anything non-carb.

12. Not even being able to THINK about salad or chicken until at least 14 weeks.

13. That SMELL in our fridge and freezer that no one else could smell but me…..horrible! Screaming irrationally at John to SHUT THE DOOR the moment he opened either one.

14. My sweet friend Juliane bringing me lime sherbert, because it helped her during her own morning sickness.

15. Our first ultrasound, where we saw the little bean, and her little heartbeat…..tears in both of our eyes.

16. Our Valentine’s day date, at a nice Italian restaurant in midtown, where I drank ginger ale & ate John’s dinner, b/c the moment mine came out, I couldn’t even look at it anymore.

17. Somehow starting to hate coffee, despite a long-standing love of my morning coffee, all things Starbucks, etc….trying to replace it with hot tea. Not the same, SO not the same.

18. Realizing at the beginning of the 2nd trimester, that I was starting to feel better!

19. Realizing at the beginning of the 2nd trimester that I was starting to get fatter…..

20. Our 3D ultrasound at 14 weeks, where we found out that we were having a GIRL!

21. The way we both instantly knew we never wanted anything else.

22. Moving into our new house, right around 20 weeks……not being allowed to lift anything heavier than a toothpick the whole time.

23. First mother’s day! John gave me the ever-romantic gift of a heart-rate monitor. Which I actually LOVE, and use every time I workout.

24. Babymoon to Naples, FL……first experience in a tankini. We had a fabulous time!

25. Feeling the baby move, but not being totally SURE that’s what it was….

26. The first time John felt the baby move, while we were riding to the airport.

27. The first time we SAW her move. Amazing.

28. 4th of July 5k at Lake Rabun…..Ally Grace’s first road race!

29. Fun hospital tour w/ Kyle and Caroline

30. Baby Essentials class and “the burper”

31. Fabulous baby showers given by such sweet friends……Ally Grace is already so blessed to have so many people who care about her.

32. The looks I get from people in spin class….a mixture of fear (please don’t have your baby on the spin bike) and disbelief (are you sure you should be doing that?!)

33. Literally feeling jealous of any runners that I see out on the streets these days.

34. Great conversations with new mommy friends, who have reassured me that even though my life is about to change drastically, it will be the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.

35. Thinking I can’t possibly get any bigger…..and then I do.

36. Total strangers being nicer to me than I’ve ever imagined. Also, total strangers touching my belly….creepier than I ever imagined.

37. Psycho cravings for apple juice, lucky charms, candy corn, and chocolate milk……I know you’ve all enjoyed hearing about those, right?

38. Organizing the nursery with my sweet mom…..thank you for helping me wash ALL of those baby clothes!

39. These last weeks of waiting, and trying to enjoy a little downtime before AG arrives. Never my strong suit, but I hear that it’s the last downtime I’ll enjoy for, oh, about 18 years. So I'm thinking I'd better make the most of it.

40. The last few weeks with John, trying to soak up every single minute of "just the two of us" time, before we become "the 3 of us." I've loved every second.








Wow, if you're still reading, I'm impressed. That was a long list, and I didn't even touch on the Ritz crackers in the middle of the night, throat burping, or crazy crying episodes for no reason. I think I covered most of it though.

At least I'll remember what pregnancy was REALLY like, should I ever get the crazy urge to do this all over again.

Nesting!

Let me tell you what's NOT a good idea: ordering a king-sized bedding set in a bag. Then leaving it in the bag for 6 months, only to pull it out and find that the wrinkles are now permanent. Like, etched into the bedpsread, never gonna come out. As in, have actually busted out my IRON (who knew I even had one!), and tried to iron the darn thing 14 times. Nope, these wrinkles are determined.

Now let me tell you why this is especially bad.....because I am NESTING, PEOPLE! And this comforter set, although cute in style and color, MAKES MY EYES BLEED! I have to look the other way every time I walk into my bedroom, and pretend that it doesn't exist, or else I get a crazy urge to bust out the iron, and iron the living daylights out of this thing. Again.

As opposed to other crazy urges that have found me on my hands and knees scrubbing our hardwood floors, breaking out the stainless steel wipes every time someone touches our fridge, and let's not even discuss the insanity with bed-making right now. Let's just say, it needs to be right, or mama's doing it over.

Anyway, I've been coveting several beautiful bedding ensembles at Pottery Barn, and I just absolutely know that they would never, ever wrinkle on me.......but when I oh-so-casually mentioned my frustration with the wrinkles to John, he just gave me this, "are you kidding me?" look. He knew right where I was going, and nipped it in the bud with a "we definitely aren't buying new bedding.....RIGHT? Right, Sherri?" Darn it, he knows me so well!

Also, in case you're wondering, I would literally give my right arm for some candy corn pumpkins right now. I went into the grocery store last night, and got way too happy about the fact that Halloween candy is out now....primarily for the candy corn. Well, guess what ONE candy they didn't have? Right. How is it even Halloween without candy corn pumpkins? So, after some desperate pleading, John stopped at the Mom 'n Pops grocery store around the corner from our house....I don't know why I even got my hopes up.....they didn't even have a stale, year-old, off-brand bag to offer me. Which I would've eaten with happiness.

By the way, I am 37 weeks and 4 days pregnant today.....and don't think I'm not counting them down either! I can't wait to meet our sassy little girl! (Yes, I CAN already tell). I know she will have been worth all the nausea, rib-cracking, organ rearranging, heartburn, and every one of the 35 extra lbs that are hanging onto my body right now. Well, most of them, anyway.

Here's my one true belly shot of the torpedo at 37 weeks. Be advised, if the thought of a giant, bare pregnant belly terrifies/makes you gag a little, stop reading now.

This is mainly to document that my skin can stretch in ways I never thought possible. Oh, the joy.

Labor Day Recap

I think I'm hallucinating. Every few minutes, I am CERTAIN that I hear a phone ringing, even though my cell phone is right beside me (not ringing), and no one ever, EVER calls our house phone. Is there a way to blame hallucinations on pregnancy? I've managed to blame various other crazy behaviors on it, so I'm sure I can figure something out.



On the other hand, if you've actually been trying to call me this afternoon, I promise I'm not screening you. I would never, ever do that. Maybe. Unless I'm in the middle of something crucial. Like watching shows on my tivo that I'm at least 10 years too old to be watching.



Or eating an entire Symphony bar, like I'm doing right now.



Since I totally forgot to take my camera with me over Labor Day weekend, I have absolutely no fun pictures to show you. Usually, I steal photos from my friends when I've been too lazy to take any, but sadly, I don't think anyone took a single picture over the weekend. Which is actually fine with me, since I'm far past the "cute" pregnancy stage, and firmly into the "Horrifyingly Puffy/ Wouldn't be Caught Dead in a Bathing Suit or Shorts" stage.



I'm not feeling super creative at the moment, so here's my Labor Day weekend recap in list form....because, y'all, I LOVE a good list.



1. Got punched in the stomach by a little kid. Who was in desperate need of a spanking.



2. Almost watched John administer that spanking.....except that other parents don't take too kindly to their kids getting spanked by strangers.



3. Found the same little kid (plus a few tiny cohorts) going through my purse, wearing my lip gloss, pulling underwear out of my suitcase, etc. (Don't ask).



4. Realized that I had the most well-behaved child up at the lake this weekend....and resolved to enjoy that while it lasts. Or at least until she starts going through my purse and stealing my lip gloss.



5. Learned that a lyger is a real animal, and not just bred for it's exceptional skills in magic.


6. Installed our car seat! (Actually John installed it, so that it would be done correctly......you already know about me and instruction manuals.)



7. Mostly, kinda, almost, packed my hospital bag. (At least I made a little progress).



8. Tried to go to 3 different Chick Fil A's for college team logo=free chicken sandwich day....sadly, they were all CLOSED. V. sad.



9. Instead, decided to be super healthy and eat at Wendy's for dinner.



10. Came home and got an awesome foot rub from my even more awesome husband. Who likes to remind me that other husbands don't give foot rubs as freely as he does. And I absolutely believe this to be true.



That's it.....pretty exciting, even without the pictures, right? I did actually have some Braxton Hicks contractions while we were up at the lake....in the middle of the night. Then tried not to hyperventilate about having the baby somewhere other than Northside. I woke John up so that he could exhibit the appropriate amount of husbandly concern, and his response? "Those aren't contractions........your stomach probably just hurts because you don't have your stomach pillow to sleep with." OH, so THAT'S what that was! I feel so much better now, after that super medically sound explanation.

27 Days!

Excuse me, people.....please note the creepy floating baby widget, which says I only have 27 days left til Ally Grace!!! (Also note that I love the word "widget.")

Now that I'm 36 weeks, people are loving to tell me about friends who have had their babies early. And I'm kinda freaking out. We managed to accomplish a lot on Finish Prepping for Baby day last weekend, but I'm being the queen of procrastination on the two things that really NEED to be done right now (packed hospital bag and installed car seat).

Which means that I'll probably go into labor tomorrow.

I will definitely, definitely, absolutely get those things done on Monday. Maybe. After all, it IS Labor Day, which would be appropriate. Actually, it would be more appropriate for me to go into labor on Labor Day, but let's not go there. She needs a few more weeks in her little kangaroo pouch.

Since I've been measuring small at my recent doctor's appointments, they're now monitoring me twice a week: once with an ultrasound and once with a non-stress test. Just to make sure things are good in there. So far, everything has been looking great, and baby girl's getting bigger and bigger. On yesterday's ultrasound, she was even sucking her thumb! As a childhood thumb-sucker (who may or may not have held onto that habit a little too long), I love it! John's already trying to figure out ways to break the habit.

Happy Labor Day weekend, y'all! GO DAWGS!!!!

Dental Date, Gum Charting, and Tylenol

Note to self: if you feel the need to make a “healthier” version of a rice krispy treat using blueberry granola with flax, REFRAIN. It will most certainly not be the same, and you will instead find yourself eating half a bag of mini-marshmallows to get that dessert-taste that you wanted.

Also, whatever you do, do NOT wait 3 years between dentist visits. Unless you want to experience pain, torture, bleeding, and embarrassment. Trust me on this.

So yesterday, John and I had a little “dental date.” I know, we are so exciting. I made the appointment for my cleaning at the same time as his, to give myself a little extra motivation to actually GO to my appointment. We get there, and are seated in adjoining chairs that are basically divided by a partition of sorts….meaning, we can still basically see and hear what’s going on with each other. My sweet little hygienist, Martha, says, “oh, you’re pregnant! Did you know that your gums bleed more, and are more sensitive when you’re pregnant?” I’m thinking, GREAT…..if my gums bleed a lot, yet another thing I can blame on the pregnancy! (As opposed to my poor flossing habits & love of candy).

Since I haven’t been in (okay, let’s be honest) 3 years, I didn’t know that they now do a thing called “gum charting.” Where they basically assign a number to each tooth & gum, based on it’s health. Uh-oh. Sweet Martha tells me that 1’s-3’s are great, 4’s are “reversible damage”, and 5’s & 6’s are stank gums…..(okay, she obviously didn’t say stank gums, but I really wish she had). Basically 5’s and 6’s=GUM DISEASE….I start praying.

We begin the charting, which involves poking each of my gums with that scrape-y thing I hate, and CALLING OUT the numbers to a lady who’s writing them down. Excuse me? I’m sorry. Is it really necessary to call out my numbers, with my husband sitting right there?! He, of the perfect teeth and gums, no cavities, and all 1’s and 2’s? Goody-goody. And I just know he is sitting there listening to my numbers, which was confirmed to me later when he said, “I was totally sitting there listening to your numbers.”

And okay, my numbers weren’t bad….no 5’s or 6’s, so I don’t have gum disease, but I did absolutely get the lecture on flossing…and on coming to the dentist every 6 months. Which I am a hard-core, faithful believer in at this point. ‘Cause it’s not a good thing when Sweet Martha tells you that “you’re gonna want to take some Tylenol when you get home tonight.”

Oh Dear.

This afternoon, I have to do something that I haven't done in an embarrassingly long time. (Like, I'm talking 2-3 years, long time). That's right, I'm going to the DENTIST. I'm pretty sure I might go into labor right there in the chair, mainly due to the awful sound of that little metal hook thing scraping my teeth.

(Really, has there ever been a worse sound in the history of all mankind? Although, what are the chances that Ally Grace would get free braces one day if she were born in the dental chair? Hmmmmmm......)

My friend, Steph, goes to a dentist who actually gives his patients laughing gas during a cleaning. I don't know who came up with that idea, but I love it! If I weren't slightly afraid of the effects of laughing gas on my unborn child, I too, would be visiting the dental awesome-ness that is her dentist.

Sadly, I'm not, and will be trying not to cry (and hoping my water doesn't break), while probably learning that I have approximately 47 cavities that need filling.

Pray for me.