Funnies

Payne is growing and changing so quickly it seems!  His little personality is really beginning to shine and OH he is just the light of my life!  Here are just a few of the things that have kept me laughing over the past few days…

We’ve really begun to establish a bedtime routine.  This includes (usually) Gordon giving Payne a bottle, one of us giving him a bath, and we both put him down in his crib for the night.  I have to say, Payne is SO adaptable to everything we’ve thrown his way (not literally).  I’d love to take credit for it, but I think it’s all Payne.  He is just wonderful!  SORRY, back to the point…

So on this particular evening, Gordon gave Payne his bottle (which he is now holding on to, not with any real purpose, but it’s precious).  Payne is a great spitter-upper.  After the bottle, Gordon lifted Payne over his shoulder to give him a good burp before his bath.  Again, Payne is a great spitter, but hates to actually spit up on the burp cloth- something I am trying to love and accept about my son but I am reaallly struggling!

Well, in typical Payne fashion the burp erupts and his little head starts swinging.  With his newfound neck muscles, he loves to look from side to side back and forth.  Once I hear the eruption, I quickly move towards the boys to assist as I am expecting a mess.  BUT WAIT.  Where’s the spit up?  It’s not on the burp cloth (duh, it never is…), it’s not on Gordon’s shirt or the couch.  What in the world?!

Before I reveal its location, have you ever seen the Family Guy when Peter has the bird living in his beard?  OK well keep that in mind…

The Endangered White Rumped Swallow

Confused, Gordon and I look at each other trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  And it is then that I find the missing spitup.

I don’t know how I stopped laughing long enough to take this picture.  But I made Gordon(half) smile for the next one because, really… there are worse things than having your sons regurgitated breast milk in your beard. HAHAHAHAHAH.  No really… he coulda pooped on you.

And since Payne and I have very few pictures together, I decided to come out from under my pajama-ed, pony tailed, why wear make up I stay at home all day cover and smile for the camera.  Unfortunately, Payne could NOT stay still.  He’s still cute even if he is fuzzy

Another moment that has kept me laughing is Payne and his play gym.  Two weeks ago, Payne and I were visited my grandmother and uncle who live in the neighborhood.  My mom was there for her usual Sunday visit and we really just watched and played with Payne the entire time.  As I’ve mentioned before, he is extremely active.  High energy doesn’t even really describe him.

So I wasn’t really surprised when he rolled onto his side all on his own!  I still gasped in excitement though!  A few days later, I found my child being an example on the side of a toy’s box.

The correct way to play:

The incorrect way to play:

Yes, he did this entirely on his own.  In like 2 minutes flat.  I usually put him down to play while I get my breakfast ready and this is what I came back to.  :)

So we are working on our naps.  We slept 10 hours and 45 minutes the night of February 28th.  Our Dr. told us that once he organizes his sleep, he will be able to better organize his naps.  I’m starting to believe he’s just not a napper (like his mom).  I mean 30 minutes (45 TOPS) into the nap, he is up.  So I’ve been letting him cry it out a little bit (talk about difficult…for both of us!)  This morning, he slept a full 1.5 hours.   That’s huge.  I even went back to sleep  But yesterday, my patience was tested, I needed him to nap.  I needed him to nap because I needed to clean his bathroom.  So I turned the ipod on in his room.  Before he went down for the nap, we danced to the ipod.  It was fun.  He slept for maybe 45 minutes and was up.  But he was happy, so I left him to play in the crib while I finished up the bathroom.  And this is my child partying in his crib..

(Sorry, can’t figure out how to embed the videos, so you have to follow the links!)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=535389658144

And last but definitely not least…our puppy Reese.  She LOVES her little brother!  Most nights, Reese sleeps in the green chair next to his crib.  She loves to lick his hands and feet.  We try to keep her from doing it too much, I promise. It’s rare that she doesn’t jump to help out when he is crying.  If we don’t immediately react to his cry, she comes over to get our attention.  And she loves him so much, that even she watches him while he’s sleeping.

Our little family is so precious and wonderful!  I feel so complete.

(Gimme another year or 2 or 3 for the next little one… :) )

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Becoming…Wise?

At this point in my life, I feel like I’m stumbling upon the word “WISE” more often than I ever have.  As a new stay at home mom, I have quite a bit of time to think about various things this life has to offer and it seems everyone wants you to try their WISE ways.

My WISE ways:

I’m trying to become “Baby Wise”…an excellent parenting book that I highly recommend if you are expecting or have a newborn.   While Payne is a wonderfully pleasant, well behaved baby, hitting all of the textbook “milestones”, I have followed the suggestions this book offers and at 11 weeks, he is giving us a whopping 7 3/4 straight hours at night!  He rarely cries unless he has a pee diaper and is just an all around HAPPY baby!  *knock on wood*  So I suppose I have become BABY WISE over the past few weeks!

I’m trying to become coupon WISE.  I’ve always been on the lookout for a good deal.  And I rarely ever buy anything for full price.  Yes, I am that shopper that goes directly to the back of the store to the sale rack and then works her way up to the front, full priced racks.  It’s an art form really.  I do try to chose what’s on special at the grocery store.  I went on a BOGO shopping trip about a month ago.  Everything, besides the staples (milk, eggs, etc), I bought was a buy one get one free.  I got $100 worth of groceries for like $60.  I will admit, I do go to Target several times a week to scout out clearance & sale items, particularly for Payne.  But this week, I bought a huge clock for our bedroom.  I saw it a few weeks ago on sale for $25, regularly $50.  I considered it but soon decided I’d wait.  Afterall, Gordon is surprisingly particular about some decorating.  So glad I did because I got it for $12 the other day.  A $50 clock for $12.  Can’t beat that.  And I found a huge pack (234) of Pampers on sale for $30 and I got it for $28 with a coupon.  That’s huge in the world of diapers.  Huge.

I recently became Energy WISE with Progress Energy.  They installed a monitor that does just that for our energy consumption during those peak summer months.  We will  be getting a $25 credit on our bill each year we participate.  We won’t actually be conserving energy with the program but it is a way to help them help us in the future.  And honestly, I’ve always been a stickler for turning off lights when I leave the room since we always did that growing up.  Thanks, mom

And with Payne in the house and my recent zest for decluttering our home and cleaning every inch of every corner, I’m trying to become GREEN.  Yea I tricked ya.  Didn’t say WISE.  The other day I found myself scrubbing the baseboards in our bathroom…ew.  I was practically overcome by the heavy duty smell spraying out of the bathroom cleaner can.  It was then that I realized… it can’t be healthy for me to be breathing in these fumes all the time.  And it’s certainly not healthy for Payne to be either.

So I set out… to buy some less-harsh, environmentally friendly cleaning products.  Now don’t get me wrong, I use Clorox wipes just as much as the next person.  And I do love the smell of a freshly cleaned kitchen and bathroom.  It’s more of an effort to do what is best for my family and the environment in which we live.  And if it happens to help the greater world, well then that is super too!

It truly is amazing that this whole “being green” thing has just taken off in the past 5-10 years.  The massive number of chemicals that have been concocted to “disinfect” this and “sanitize” that.   Now yes, lots of people did die because of the bacterias that were present and the lack of bacteria killing products.  But something had to work.  Yes?  With today’s technology and the WISE doings of our past, this combination just makes sense, to me atleast.

As I stand in one of the 3 cleaning product aisles of Target, I am forced to stay within a 12″ space that hosts “green” products.  I could scan several aisles of man made, highly toxic, chemically based products for days.  There are hundreds to choose from!  While the wide variety can make it difficult to decide, so can the limited choices… I mean I had like 3 brands to choose from….  So I chose Seventh Generation.  I recently saw a commercial for their products and it was reasonable priced.  I went with the multi-purpose cleaner since I have a wealth of areas to clean.  Well, that one is going back because the smell is disgusting.  No really, it smells like Clorox wipes gone bad, really bad.

I decided I’d try another brand and I’d smell it before I bought it!  This time, I chose Mrs. Meyers.

I see it ALL the time but always tend to stay within my Clorox wipes comfort zone.  Well when I realized it was made from plan derived “things”, I thought “WINNER!”  And OMG…. it smells so good.  I chose the basil fragrance since I was buying kitchen cleaner and hand soap.  I wanted to lick my countertop.  It smelled amazing.  (Seriously, I felt like one of those dumb Febreeze commercials where someone walks in while the other person is has their face buried in the sofa)…. It cleaned the countertops so well!   AND its not going to singe my baby’s nostril hairs everytime I use it!  So, Mission Accomplished.  I highly recommend it if you’re looking to move away from the harshness of chemicals.

Now I’ve just got to print off some coupons because that stuff is expensive!  :)  A vicious cycle  it is….

One day I’ll get there…. one day!

Catch Up!

I feel like I’m playing catch up with all these posts that I’ve been wanting to write!  With our laptops out for the 1st 2 months of Payne’s life, I feel so behind.

We had his 2 month check up yesterday and we left so proud!

Back up….

So Payne was born via emergency c-section.  Little bugger’s head was turned and wouldn’t move down.  After almost 2 hours of pushing sans epidural (I’m proud, back off!), it was necessary.  Well, necessary to give me the epidural to relax and hopefully turn his head.  After another 2 hours of that, no progress.  So a c-section was recommended since the changes of his head turning seemed slim and it would have been a difficult delivery I was told.  After the 12 hours of laboring, I was all about the surgery.  It was a relatively great experience.  Obviously I had some serious recovery but it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought.

He was born at 7lbs. 6 oz.  He was down to 7lbs by the time we left the hospital.  At his 2 week visit to the pediatrician, he was back at his birth weight.  While this was a good thing, his rate of growth was a concern.  So we had to come back in another week.  By then, he was at 7lbs. 14oz.  Good stuff there!  Between those visits and then again before the 2 month check up, I understood that motherly worry that I never quite got when I was growing up.  TOTALLY get it now.

At yesterday’s 2 month check-up, I won Mother of the Year for bringing the baby with a dirty diaper and having not a single clean one in my diaper bag.  Payne’s one (and really only) problem with this world is a pee diaper.  Thankfully, he was about to get 4 shots and would probably mess his diaper out of fear, so they had one handy.  The shots were quick and I stayed in the room and actually held his little hand.  I know I was definitely in the way while the nurse was pokin him but I’m sure she’s had worse?  I didn’t even cry!

But his stats at 9 weeks are:  11 lbs. 11 oz (50th percentile)… 22″ long (25th percentile).  I think it’s wrong though.  Yes I’m that mom that is going to question their measurement, Gordon’s already made fun of me for it.  I measured him like 2 weeks ago with a little tape measure that I have and he was close to 23″.  There’s been an error.  But I’ll let it slide this time.

After his appointment, we ran all over God’s Creation to find the vitamin drops that he needs as well as some baby Tylenol in the event that the shots bothered him.  We went to THREE drug stores… none of them had the right drops.  I mean honestly, get with it.  And I wasn’t going to pay $9.99 for a bottle of baby Tylenol but I’m not 100% comfortable with buying the store brand.  I should probably get over that and save myself some money.  But anyway… I had almost given up for the day.  As a last resort, we stopped at the Teeter… of course they had both items I needed.   And I paid $9.39 for the baby Tylenol… a savings of $.60.  :)

The poor little guy was knocked out the rest of the night besides waking to eat.  And had no problem going back to sleep.  He’s just the best baby!  And so cute with a blue Snoopy band-aid on each thigh

Payne’s First Snow!

Well it’s technically his 2nd since he’s been born.  But the 1st snow the week before Christmas was really just flurries.  We made it out that day (to buy our Christmas tree) but it was no big thang!

THIS however, was a noteworthy snowfall for the big guy!  Snow began falling Friday evening around 7pm.  I was looking forward to being up to feed Payne that night because looking out the window while the snowflakes softly pile in  the middle of the night is one of the most peaceful things.  Of course that was the night Payne chose to sleep 6 hours so I was up on my own almost all night.  But whatever

Saturday we stayed in all day.  It was great!  We gave the 2nd floor a real good cleaning.  Good Will is going to love us this year.  However, I’d rather send the clothing items to Haiti but I haven’t heard of a clothing drive for them yet.  Anyone know of anywhere that would accept that donation? But that’s the 3rd floor Good Will.  The 2nd floor donation is full of candles, random plates, cups… I mean you name it, I’ve probably got it!  By about 4:45 we finally made it outside for Payne’s 1st snow picture!

Sunday my cabin fever set in and I drove up to Harris Teeter to get a few treats.  I don’t know what it is but ever since Payne was born, I’ve had this intense sweet tooth!  I didn’t care for sweets that much during my pregnancy but God Bless America, I love some chocolate right now!!!!!!   We both finally got showers and changed out of our 2 day old pajamas… gross I know.  But clearly we’re not the only ones who couldn’t get out of their pjs.  Harris Teeter was full of pj-ed zombies.  I was so glad I didn’t brush my hair before I went, I would have TOTALLY stood out in that crowd.  Honestly, we’re stuck inside for a single day, and all sense of hygiene goes to pot.  And then we all get waay too comfy with this and decide to venture out into public.  I won’t lie, I go to Harris Teeter in my pjs all the time, I’m not scared.  What we’ll do (or buy) to get rid of a little cabin fever.  To the man purchasing beer and ginger snaps… I understand, it’s what you needed.

Back to the point.  Since we were a little more active in and out of the house Sunday, we were able to get some better (awake) shots of Payne in the snow!

It was so fun just putting him out there in his Bumbo!

And Reese just loves him to pieces!  She’s started storing her toys in Payne’s carseat since she’s tried to get him to throw the rope for her with no luck.  She hears him cry on the monitor and goes up to it to watch.  Whether she actually understands that it’s him or not, it melts our heart each time!

Where Has the Time Gone?!

Well… our laptops are up and running again and with this newfound “reconnected to the outside world that is larger than 3″x4″, I don’t know what to do with myself.  I turned on my laptop for the 1st time in over a year (it was so slow, we just always use Gordon’s) and said to myself, “I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO LOOK AT!!”.  Seriously, for the past 3 months, both Gordon and I have been surfing the internet via our cell phones.  Which is totally fine.  But extremely frustrating.  And small.  ANYWHO.

Today we celebrate Payne’s 2 month birthday!  It’s hard to believe 2 months ago we were sitting in a hospital bed holding our brand new baby boy, in total awe with what our lives had been blessed!

A few new things…

Payne definitely knows my voice/when I enter and leave a room.  And when I leave the house without him (he is in Daddy’s wonderful care), he seems to know I’m gone when that front door shuts!

Payne is really starting to recognize Gordon’s voice/presence.  I was holding him the other evening as we had just finished a feeding.  He was goin to town on his pacifier as he usually does.  It seriously reminds me of Maggie on The Simpsons.  Gordon walked in the door and started talking to our welcome home greeter, Reese, and the sucking stopped immediately.  It was so cute.

He is able to track things with his eyes.

His favorite color seems to be blue.  I was reading him a color board book that his aunt & uncles got him for Christmas.  And he could have clearly cared less.  But when I turned the page to the Blue page, his eyes lit up and he started smiling and kicking his legs.  Now the Dr. said he was only able to see black&white and some red.  That of course was a month ago, so I’m sure his eyes have developed over the past month and he is seeing more color.

He is doing a wonderful job holding his head up.  We do alot of tummy time on his new mat (thanks Uncle Cabell & Brian & Aunt Meg).  And I went and bought a Bumbo seat that is a lifesaver while I’m trying to make dinner.  

Everyday is something new and exciting for us… it’s almost too much to keep track of!  Enjoy some of my favorite pictures!

Headin’ home!

The sweetest thing.

Heeeee’s Here!!!

…and already 6 weeks old! 

PAYNE HUDSON SINCLAIR was born November 29, 2009 at 5:55pm.  He was a whoppin’ 7lbs 6oz and 20.5 inches long!  He is a WONDERFUL baby!  A great sleeper, a pretty good eater, and an excellent pooper!  Oh and he’s super cute :) 

Once our laptops are back and running (went out a few days before Payne arrived. of course), I’ll post some more!  

Emjoy some pictures!

Unrequested Advice

I’ve always been fairly judgemental when it comes to how adults parent their children.  I’ve babysat most of my life and come across some very wonderful families and early on some very …. strange families.   As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized why certain decisions work for certain families for certain reasons.  And after working in the school system over the past 2 and a half years, while not directly observing parenting, it becomes apparent (hah….get it?) what goes on at home.  Regardless, I’ve done my best to keep an open mind (which may contradict my opening statement). 

Recently, I’ve had the privilege to witness some of the most entertaining parenting.  I don’t know how these stories will translate… at any rate, here goes it.

One Saturday afternoon, Gordon and I stopped by Chick Fil A for a quick lunch since we were out and about getting “things” done.  There is a family of 5 in front of us ordering.  After they order, we step up to the counter to get our grub.  Moments later, dad butts in and requests a chocolate milk that has a boy on it because the one he was given has a girl on it and he doesn’t want his son to get upset.  *DEEEEEEP breath in….and out*  YOU GET WHAT YOU GET.  Tell your kid to get over it.  It’s milk. 

So we are all enjoying our Chick Fil A… Thankfully (I’m rolling my eyes) Gordon has chosen a seat nearby the family.  Ugh.  I get another glimpse into the roles in this family as their daughter eagerly picks her nose at the table while eating.  WWRD?  What Would Robin Do?  Nose issues are tricky with me.  I understand….sometimes you gotta go for it.  But you’re at a restaurant.  Tell your kid to stop, go to the bathroom, take care of it however you need to and wash your hands.  Then you can join us at the table.  WDTDD?  What Does This Dad Do?  He takes her food away until she finishes digging.  NO.  You are in public.  Make her stop.  Thankfully, I was well into the 3rd trimester so there was no doubt I’d be able to finish my meal. 

Several days later, we find ourselves at the Sprint store so that Gordon can get his new work phone updated… or something.  I don’t know I’m an AT&T girl.  Enter young mother and 18 month old child.  Now I knew this would be entertaining just by the looks of this duo.  And she confirmed my assumption when she opened her mouth.  “My phone don’t work and my husband is out of town and it’s the only way I can talk to him.  And I have a baby.  You need to fix this.”  Of course she was not using her inside voice and I was in full on “Yea I’m Staring At You Because You’re Ridiculous” mode.  So she continued on for several minutes like this was everyone else’s problem and the world needed to stop, pronto.  The service guy behind the counter was very calm which I think only fueled her redneck fire, making me antsy in my seat for some action.  Well, the only action she got was a SLAP ACROSS HER FACE followed by a “SHUT UP!” from her 18 month old.  Man did she deserve it. 

So I’m at Homegoods… I love that store.  I will visit the same store Saturday AND Sunday just because you never know!  And if I make it to one in a weekend, I typically make it to the 3 others that are within a 10 mile radius just for kicks.  While making my purchase, a Homegoods Associate decided to come up beside me and make friends.  I’ve found when you’re pregnant, like really pregnant like I am, total strangers automatically assume you are their friend.  I think this is really wonderful to be honest.  The world should be like this.  Well this Associate dedcided to share some unrequested labor advice.  “There ain’t no reason for you to hurt like that… I got one word for you… EPIDUO”.  Oh… ok.  My response to advice is typically “THANKS!  I’ll keep that in mind”.  Yes, I was laughing (ALOT) in my head because she clearly doesn’t know that it’s not called an EPIDUO.  But she was actually embarassing me because I was literally walking out of the door and she was still yelling “EPIDUO….EPIDUO” at me repeatedly.  And if you know me, I’m not embarassed by much.  I mean, I used to fake fall in airports just to watch people’s faces.  I own 2 pairs of mom jeans.  I once showed up to school in my friend’s Spanish dance costume.  It was a Saturday but people were there setting up for a dance.  I’m usually the one embarassing others. 

Epiduo.  I’ll keep that in mind. 

Today while getting his hair cut, Gordon was telling the hair stylist about the pending birth of our baby.  Since my due date has come and gone, the stylist informed Gordon that I can be “reduced” to start labor.  Just in case you didn’t know…

I Am Here For Your Amusement

As this 3rd trimester comes to close, I find a bittersweet feeling in my heart.  At times I find myself so happy and so loving every part of the pregnancy.  And other times, I find myself broken down on the side of I-540 with no cell phone or gas. 

So as I reflect on the past 3 months, go ahead, laugh at me.  I am here for your amusement. 

1.  Yes, I really ran out of gas one Monday evening while heading home from a quick errand.  I found myself COMPLETELY stranded as I was too lazy to run back upstairs to grab my cell phone that morning.  So I began to walk the open road.  A very kind nurse pulled over and picked up me & my 9 months pregnant self.  But I had to scale a guard rail to get into her car…thus, I split my pants.  TGFWM (Thank God For Wal Mart).  That is where my wonderful husband rescued me shortly thereafter. 

2.  I’ve been told crazy pregnant dreams happen often.  I’ve only had one dream that I can vividly recall.  And it had nothing to do with our baby boy.  I had a dream that Gordon got a promotion but would be moving to a completely new branch to fill a completely different position.  As a farewell/congratulations gift, he was given a new desk chair.  Oh this was no ordinary chair.  It was fully equiped with a 13″ wide seat (a detail I found hilarious??), large wheels and a motor.  Basically folks, he got a mini motorized wheel chair.  This is when I woke up to myself hysterically laughing.  Laughing so hard in fact, I had to go to the other room to calm myself down so that Gordon could get back to sleep.  About 30 minutes later, I returned to bed with tears running down my face, still mildly convulsing from the laughter that it brought me. 

3.  Like I said, not many crazy dreams.  But one night, I did consciously poke Gordon square in the eyes with Pointer & Tall Man.  I knew I was doing it but I was completely asleep.  Nothing like waking up with a finger in each eye.  Sorry Gord. 

4.  A few nights later, I woke up with my finger in Gordon’s ear.  Still feeling guilty from the previous incident, I woke him up to apologize.  He doesn’t remember it.

5.  Water weight?  My entire body is swollen.  I am retaining enough water to bring us out of a drought.  To cover or not to cover?  That is the question I find myself asking on a daily basis.  Let’s just say, Gordon and I are both looking forward to the day when Gordon doesn’t have to help me get dressed or help me put on my shoes.  And by help I mean do it for me.   

6.  My belly needs its own VIC card number.  Twice now I’ve gone through the Do It Yourself lanes at Harris Teeter.  And both times, in the middle of entering my VIC card number, a buzzer goes off and tells me to REMOVE THE LAST ITEM YOU PLACED ON THE SCANNER.  What’s most embarassing is that I didn’t put anything on the scanner.  My belly is just that big.  

As the next 3 weeks pass, I’m sure I will have many more moments of … amusement. 

Please keep us in your prayers, we’re considered FULL TERM now at 37 weeks.  He is head down and I have definitely “dropped”.  I wake up each morning and wonder if this will be my last day at work… this too is a bittersweet feeling!  And then I do some squats and take the bumpy way to work.

Slack.

That’s the only word I can think of to define this blog.
But if my defense, we’ve been SO busy over the past month.

1. The weekend of September 18th, my best friends got together for a Girls Weekend and threw me a most lovely shower that Saturday afternoon. It was wonderful- both the friendships and the level of spoiled-ness. As part of my “Hey, guess what, I’m pregnant” reveal, I gave each girl a onesie in hopes that they’d decorate it for the baby. The onesies made it back and wow… I just love every single one of them so much.  The both touched my heart and made me laugh. 

Some will be worn out in public, others will be worn just for a photo op.  They also spoiled me with some really wonderful gifts!  I’m in the process of thank you notin’… bear with me please. 

2.  My mom’s office threw me a shower on the morning of September 28th.  Some of the people involved have known me since I was like…10 years old, so it was pretty cool.  They also gave us so many great gifts.  My dad and Gordon came to this shower even with having all of us there, we never got a family picture.  It makes me kind of sad that it didn’t even cross any of our minds.  But my mom did take this STELLAR photo of Gordon and I.  I’m definitely in mid-picking-up-cake-knife pose and there’s a good chance Gordon is about to smile.  This awkward family photo has become a fast favorite of mine!

3.  We are preparing for our 3rd shower that is tomorrow night thrown by my sister in law Meg.  It’s a family shower so we are doing just as the name implies… our families are getting together for a nice dinner and good quality time together before the bitty baby gets here!  I can’t wait!

4.  The school year is in full swing which means by lunch time my ankles look like I have doughnuts wrapped around them.  And that’s cool because I like doughnuts.  Right now my toes look like those awkward vienna sausages.  My face is officially as round as the moon.  My belly too.  I had to do a quick (fast paced for a pregnant woman) new clothes run tonight.  I’m thrilled about the dress I got for $3.50 at Old Navy.  Also school related, it’s official that I’m going to take a leave of absence.  I feel very lucky that I’m at a job that I can just leave for a year and come back to. 

5.  About a month ago, the doc told me I have carpal tunnel in my right hand.  It’s not painful at this point but it is a little strange to have tingly fingers at all times.  And I am officially unable to open cans, bottles, etc because of it.  It’s pregnancy induced and will go away after he’s born.  It could be worse.  I could have it in both hands *knock on wood*. 

6.  The nursery is coming along just fine.  We’re still missing a few major items like a crib mattress but I did hang a couple of pictures so it didn’t seem so under construction looking.  For my birthday, we got alot of room decor like the crib bedding and some knick knacks that have helped. 

7.  My doctor appointments have been great.  Somehow my weight is right on track.  My belly is measuring right on time.  My blood pressure is great.  His heartbeat is excellent.  He seems to still have both his arms.  We are so lucky. 

8.  Last night was our final child birth class.  I am so glad we signed up… it was definitely worth it.  I know for the past 5 weeks, every Wednesday evening Gordon wanted to poke his eyes out but if anything, it got us talking about our expectations and preferences for when this baby boy decides to make his grand entrance (or exit, depending on how you view it).  I learned so much about birth and about myself.  And it was nice to be in a room full of women who are just as pregnant (or pregnant-er) as I am.  (I like to use words that aren’t words but exist just in a different word form- ie. pregnant-er=more pregnant).

9.  I’ve had one scare very recently.  Last weekend I was really anxious to get things done.  Gordon was out of town and well the list only seems to get longer, never shorter.  Sunday night, I was very anxious to get laundry folded and put away.  Minutes after we finished, I sat down in bed and immediately felt horrible!  I thought I was going to throw up and I started to feel alot of pressure.  The pressure was not only uncomfortable but a little painful.  I took note of the time.  And tried to make myself comfy.  Almost impossible.  Laying down made the nausea worse and my belly wasn’t resting.   The toilet seemed to be the only place I felt even a little relief.  I felt the pressure right around 10 minutes later.  Of course my mind began to race and I was immediately regretting not having finished packing my hospital bags.  Gordon got me some Sprite and crackers and I slowly attempted that.  I sat in bed surfing the internet on my phone for early pregnancy symptoms and I was just silent wondering what I should do next.  Another 10 minutes had passed and I felt the pressure again.  I was eventually able to lay down, pressure- & nausea-free.  I was up my normal 46 times throughout the night, very uncomfortable but nothing out of the ordinary like earlier that night.  And I haven’t had it since. 

10.  I’m about 6 1/2 weeks away from my due date.  That is both so exciting and so scary.  I just hope in the coming weeks I’m able to get everything ready.  One day at a time.  Breathe in, breathe out.

I Spoke Too Soon

So about a week ago, I was bragging about how wonderful I felt.  I am obviously pregnant to most anyone with a good amount of energy to get me through the workday, feeling healthy, etc. 

And then over the weekend it hit.  I spoke too soon.  I could officially anounce that I am physically uncomfortable.  The restless sleep was becoming increasingly irritating.  You would think as round as most of my body is at this point, I’d be able to roll from one side to the other no problem.  No so.  My entry into the bed is nothing short of pure entertainment.  Think of it as an reverse belly flop.  And then I choose which side to sleep on.  I’m so much more comfortable on one side but if I sleep on that side and wake to use the bathroom… it aggrivates a nerve in my lower back/upper butt (when you have a butt like mine, there is an actual geography used to describe its parts).  So the pain in my upper butt forces me to walk like a 145 year old.  And aside from the production that it is, it’s actually very painful. 

I beach myself on the couch as soon as I get home from work.  I roll off to eat dinner and return to my beach immediately after.  Since I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night feeling completely famished, I have to eat about an hour before I go to bed.  So I flop off the couch to fill a cereal bowl with whatever sugary goodness is in the pantry.  And I return to the couch for a short stay.    

To top the uncomfortablness, I had a raging headache for several days, nonstop.  Waking up with a headache is by far the worst.  And when you wake up 4-5 times a night, it makes it that much more horrible.  I was able to sleep it off last night though. 

And I must say, after last nights sleep, I woke up headache-less, with plenty of energy, a positive attitude, ready for the day.  So I pray that the uncomfortable days are limited over the next 10 1/2 weeks!