Fill in the Blanks Friday

It's Friday and I felt like it was a good time to fill in some blanks.  Join Lauren at the little things we do if you want to fill in some blanks too!

1. When it comes to holiday shopping, I haven't even started.  I got my maternity time confused and went two weeks without a paycheck so I couldn't afford to buy anything.  And I mean nothing.  I got paid yesterday (thank goodness) and I went to make coffee this morning and we have no creamer and I went to make oatmeal and we have no milk.  Yikes!  So, we are doing ALL our shopping this weekend...
2. A few things on my Christmas list are new running shoes, a few new running shirts, and a few new pieces of clothes.  That's about it.  I don't really have too much on my list because I haven't really thought much about what I want.   Oh well - it's all about baby Evan now anyway, isn't it!
3. An intangible gift I'd like to receive is a peaceful ten hour car ride up to Vermont with the baby.  Yup, I really hope he behaves and doesn't scream the entire time.  Only time will tell!
4. My Christmas will be spent with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend.  I can't wait to see them and have Evan spend some time with them.  Plus my sister will be there and she's never met Evan so I'm so excited for her to finally meet him.  I can't WAIT to head up there!
5. My most favorite Christmas gift I ever received was....  Hmm, hard to narrow it down.  When I was little I remember being super excited to get Mall Madness.  Then one year I got a yoga retreat to Costa Rica.  I've gotten a lot of good presents in my lifetime, but the best things are spending the holidays with people I love. 
6. The best thing about the holidays is the holiday spirit.  I can't help be super happy during the holiday season.  I love my little tree at work, I love buying gifts for people, I love sending out holiday cards, I love stuffing stockings, I love all the parties and food, and I love heading up to Vermont.  I also love snow, so please snow a TON while I'm in Vermont.  I would appreciate it!

Have you finished your holiday shopping yet?

Are you sending out cards this year?
I feel like a lot of people I know have decided not to do cards this year and it makes me sad.  It is so fun getting cards in the mail and keeping in touch with people outside of Facebook.  Oh well - I refuse to give it up!

The Return to Work

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I posted.  The last few weeks of maternity leave flew by and I was busy spending as much time with baby Evan as possible.  I still can't believe he's three months old and I am back at work.  Boo.

Loving the bumbo!

Returning to work was hard and easy at the same time.  My sister was watching him when I first went back and since I knew she loved him and would take good care of him, I wasn't super worried dropping him off.  However, I was still sad.  It is hard thinking that he is going to grow up with someone else watching him and taking care of him.  I didn't have a baby so someone else could raise him.  Unfortunately we don't have enough money for me to stay home (and I make most of the money anyway, so I would definitely not be the one staying home), but I would do it in a minute if we did.

Going back to work wasn't quite so bad though.  I like my work and I like the people I work with, so it could be worse.  The minute I got back in line at the bus stop, it felt like I had never left.  I turned the lights on in my office and it was like nothing changed.  I slipped back into work mode super easily and the only adjustment is the fact that I have to pump all the time.  Other than that, it felt like I had never left and that nothing had changed.

My first week back was a bit stressful, I admit.  I had to get a presentation done to present at a legal conference in Chicago and then I had to fly out to Chicago on Thursday to present it.  And while I was there, my sister went into labor and gave birth to a little girl 30 minutes before I got off the plane.  And then I had a site visit by the CDC for my grant on Friday morning.  Yikes!  It was hard enough getting up at 4:30am to go to work, let alone flying to Chicago and back in one day, and preparing for site visits and presentations.  It all worked out though and I recovered on the weekend.

This is what I wanted to do, but Evan beat me to it!

I did relax a bit on Saturday, but then spent Sunday cooking and cleaning.  I made Creamy Chicken Soup and Oven Baked Chimichangas for my sister (so she has some food for those first few days after giving birth) and then Sopa de Frijoles for my husband.  Then I put our Christmas tree up (it's super tiny, a mere 2ft tall) and our holiday decorations (an advent calendar my mom made us and two stockings).  I also did a load of lights, darks, towels, baby clothes, and diapers.  Lots of laundry!!!

And now the weekend is over and the work week is about to start again.

Who wouldn't want to spend all day with me???

And Evan gets to spend the days with his father, since my sister isn't watching him right now.  I'm jealous!

Hurricane Sandy and Evan’s First Halloween

Yeah, a lot happened in the last week and I didn’t have a chance to blog about it so it all has to be crammed into one post.  Otherwise I’d be writing about Halloween in two weeks.  And as it is, I’m already way behind the crowd, so I thought I’d get it written as quickly as possible.  So a blog that covers a ton of topics is in order.

First line of business?  We survived Hurricane Sandy without too many problems.  I was pretty surprised because our entire area was spared – nothing like NJ or NY.  There were trees down and lots of people without power, but that was about it.  Metro was shut down in DC and the federal government closed for two days, but we were quite lucky.  Just in case, we made sure we were prepared.  We bought lots of food to last us (ok, so chips, caramels, stuff to make chocolate chip cookies, and almond M&M’s aren’t really survival foods) and we filled our bathtub with water along with every pitcher or water bottle we owned (that’s what the bottom left picture is below – our bathtub is cracked so the owners of our condo nicely filled it in with some gray gunk…yeah, our apartment has some “quality” features).

The middle picture above is suppose to show the crazy winds but it’s not really conveyed.  It’s hard to show wind since you have no idea what those trees normally look like.  But you can see that it was a cloudy day, right? 

And the top photo?  Yeah, that is our leaking roof.  Yup, I guess the roof is leaking and so we got this big bubble of water that formed in our ceiling during the hurricane rains.  Then some bubbles formed on the wall.  Then a hole formed in the ceiling bubble and a bunch of water ended up on our floor.  And the bubbles on the wall collapsed and water slid down the drywall.  So now our ceiling is about as cool as our bathtub.  The condo is responsible for the roof so since this is essentially a result of a leaky roof, it is there responsibility to fix our ceiling and wall – but who knows how long that will take.  Our place just keeps getting better and better!

The day after the hurricane I went for a walk with Dolce to assess the damage in the neighborhood.  There were lots of trees down, but that was about it.  We live in an older neighborhood so there are a ton of trees and lots of them are old, so they fall down easily.  Although I know of people who had trees down in their yard, our neighborhood didn’t have too much damage.

And now for Halloween!

Evan was extra cute in his Halloween costume.  His aunt bought him a tiger outfit to wear, so of course we put him in it!  And my mom bought him the bib, and since he only has one “first” Halloween we made sure he wore it that day.  I think he’s a pretty adorable tiger!

We didn’t do any serious trick-or-treating though.  My sister’s in-laws all met at her house with their kiddos and then headed out in the neighborhood together so we joined them.  There were six kids so it was fun to watch them go door-to-door but Evan just hung back.  We only took him to two houses because we didn’t really need a bag full of candy (because of course Evan is too young to eat candy).  It was fun though!

So, that’s that.  Hurricane Sandy and Halloween.

And I can’t believe it’s November already and Evan is 8 weeks old.  Crazy stuff!  Where does all the time go????

Evan’s Goes to church and storm preparations

Yesterday we finally took Evan to church.  It was his first church visit since his baptism.

I was at the baptism too, you just can’t see me.  I am standing directly behind Ivan, you can kind of see my leg between Ivan’s legs.  I’m not sure why I was hiding.

Anyway, we hadn’t brought Evan to church because we were scared he’d have a melt-down during a moment of silence.  Plus, Ivan had soccer most Sunday mornings.  And honestly, getting up and organized and out the door for 9am mass just seemed impossible.

However, yesterday we were meeting my nun friend for church.  We hadn’t seen her since Easter when we told her I was pregnant.  I’m not sure why.  I try to get together with her more often than every six months but time had just eluded us.  Plus, since she can’t drive and lives about 40 minutes away it can be hard. 

We overcame the obstacles though.  We decided to pick her up and head to her favorite church.  Unfortunately for us, church starts at 8:45am.  And remember, we are 40 minutes away and have to pick her up.  We were actually out the door at 8am – and I had showered and pumped!  And yes, you did the math right, we were late for church.

Oh well.

Evan did quite well and only had a crying fit once.  I went outside and when he fell asleep we ventured back in.  Not too bad actually.  And after church we went to Panera and he did well there too.  We have only made it to a restaurant once before, so I was nervous about this too.  It’s not that I don’t think I can calm him down, because he’s not too difficult to calm down, it’s that I’ll spend the entire time focusing on him and not really have time to socialize.  However, we did well and had a good time.  My nun friend was so happy she got to meet him!

After church we headed home to prepare for Hurricane Sandy.  She’s suppose to be a doozer and I’m REALLY hoping we don’t lose power.  Just in case we do though, I finished ALL the laundry.  Yup, Ivan was afraid we’d run out of clean clothes or something.  Not quite sure why doing laundry was so imperative, but I got it all done.  Towels, baby clothes, darks, lights.  Just didn’t get the sheets done.  And I discovered something worse than doing my laundry.  Doing the baby’s laundry.  It’s so tiny and has so many parts.  And Ivan insists on filling our bathtub with water and every thermos too.  Just in case the city water treatment plant loses power or the pump loses power – we’ll still be able to flush our toilet and have some drinking water.

I also made some chili – a big pot.  Not sure why because if we don’t have power the chili will go bad.  However I felt like if it was cold outside a big bowl of chili would taste great.

Please let out power stay on!

It's the Frankenstorm

Today hubs came home and said that Frankenstorm was coming.  I said, "What?" and he said, "Frankenstorm." Does he mean a thunderstorm is coming?  I was confused. 

What he meant was that Hurricane Sandy was coming, around Halloween.  I discovered this the minute I turned on the TV.

Ok.  Got it.

Yup, it's hurricane season and although we don't get many hurricanes here, I guess we're getting one in the next few days.  We got Hurricane Irene last year around this time and hubs made me fill the bathtub with water along with every thermos we owned.  And we bought headlamps (because we couldn't find flashlights).

This year it seems like it's going to be the same drill.  Hubs already mentioned the bathtub and thermoses.  And I went to the grocery store, but rather than get emergency food I got this:

Yeah, so when we lose power and can't get anywhere, we'll have plenty of candy and chips.  I recall a similar incident last year.  But at least last year we were smart enough to buy powdered milk.  This year we were not.  Instead I bought ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies?  Hmm.  In all honesty I didn't go to the grocery store to buy emergency food, I went to buy a gift card for a bday dinner I was going to.  This stuff just jumped in my basket for the ride.  I'm thinking those Vegetable Sticks count as a vegetable, right?

We also made it to Sears and bought some flashlights.  Two.  Did you know flashlights cost a FORTUNE????  One flashlight was $34 and the other was $37!!!!  What is with that?  And they weren't ginormous or anything - like those flashlights with a diameter of 12 inches.  Nope, just your normal looking flashlight.  I was shocked when the Sears person said my total was $125 (we also bought a stability ball and a humidifier for the baby because he's got a stuffy nose).  Yikes!!!  Those flashlights better come in handy.

Ok, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this Hurricane Sandy turns out to be a whole lot of nothing.  I don't like being without power.  It is not fun.

At least I found out my sister's neighbors have a generator so if our power does go out I can load up some of my food and find it a new home in their fridge.

FIve Question Friday

Another Friday.  Unbelievable.  Where did all the time go?  I feel like it was just Monday yesterday.  Evan is going to be a teenager before I know it (and let's not think about how old I'm gonna be)!

I do have to say that I'm pretty exhausted here.  Last night was not a good sleep night, for Evan or me.  Let me first say that Yerba Mate is a stimulant.  I was not aware of this.  Innocent ol' me was doing a bit of grocery shopping and was dying of thirst.  I picked up a drink in the organic tea section and all I paid attention to was the part that said "pear infusion" or something.  So, I opened it up and chugged it down (don't worry, I paid for it).  Then I looked closer at the bottle and noticed it said Yerba Mate.  Since I'm nursing I thought maybe I should make sure that it's safe for nursing mothers, so I looked to see if it mentioned anything.  And that's when I noticed it talked about being a stimulant, like caffeine.  Oh no - bad news for me.  I haven't had a "stimulant" in forever, so I had a feeling sleep would elude me.  And it did.

Evan slept the first half of the night, but didn't sleep so well the second half.  Part of the problem is that time really flies when you're sleeping.  I felt like I had just gone to sleep and then heard Evan crying and tried to get him to fall back alseep.  Until hubs informed me that it was already 2am.  Baby Evan had slept from 8:30pm - 2:00am.  Not bad!  After that it went down hill, and it didn't help that I went to be so late.  Oh well - a little lost sleep won't harm me too much.

And now, onto Five Question Friday from My Little Life.  I haven't participated for a while so I'm excited to join up this week.

1. Who wakes up in the morning with the kids, you or the hubby?
   Currently, hubs wakes up first because he has to be to work at 6:30am and I don't have to be anywhere.  However, when I go back to work we'll both get up at the same time.  I'll get up to feed Evan or pump and he'll get up to walk Dolce.
2. Do you watch the World Series even if your team isn't in it?
   No.  I definitely don't.  I would watch part of it if the Orioles were playing, maybe.  But maybe not.  I love going to baseball games but I don't really like watching it as much on TV.  Maybe because the best thing about baseball games is the food - hot dogs, nachos, funnel cake, etc.  I like watching the Ravens play though.
3. What is the best compliment you have received?
   Ya know, I don't really know.  When I was pregnant the best compliment was this lactation consultant who said I had great ab structure.  I loved that compliment, even if it wasn't true.  I like unexpected compliments the best - or compliments about my work or my attitude (like being happy or supportive or a good friend, etc.).  Whatever the compliment, I always say thank you.  In high school my math teacher said that when people give you a compliment you should always say thank you, because whether you believe the compliment or not, it is like a gift.  I remember that to this day and no matter what, I always say thank you.
4. Do/Did you dress up to take your kids trick-or-treating?
   This is my son's first Halloween, so I have never taken him trick-or-treating.  I'm not really going to this year either.  He will only be two months and doesn't need a bag of candy (and neither do Dad and I).  We'll put him in a cute pajama outfit and take him out with his cousins (if it's not too cold), but that's about it.  And no, I won't be dressing up.
5. Do you have a favorite Bible verse?  What is it and why?
   Yes, I have a few favorite Bible verses.  I will share my two favorite.
   
   "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29: 11
   
   "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Proverbs 3: 5-6
   
   Both of those verses really resonate with me.  When things don't work out the way I was planning or life takes a turn for the worse, these verses make me feel better and less alone.  

So there we go - the five questions and my five answers.

What about you?  What are your Halloween plans?  Favorite Bible verses? 

Dolce Strikes Again

Ahh, yes, the love of a dog and a boy.

Here’s Dolce chewing on a bone while Evan plays on his floor mat (please ignore the mess).  They look so happy, so content.  Often people talk about how their dogs are overprotective of their children, often guarding their cribs while they sleep.  There are stories of dogs and children saving each other, risking their lives for each other. 
These are such cute stories. 
But I’m here to tell you, there is little love lost between Dolce and Evan.  Don’t forget, we rescued Dolce because he ate all the toys at my sister’s house and had to get a bib and a pacifier removed from his intestines (these were separate occasions, so we’re talking about two $3000 surgeries).
I admit, Ivan and I were stupid to rescue this mutt-ball when we were expecting our own child (I was a softie and hated to see him go to a rescue society).  He was as well behaved as could be before Evan arrived though. 
And now?  I give you this:

Our $25 Miracle Blanket.  Let me tell you, this swaddle blanket was definitely a miracle.  We had tried the Velcro types like the SwaddleMe, but they did not work.  Evan was like Houdini and could somehow get his arm stuck between the two Velcro flaps.  This did not comfort him.  He’d wake up frustrated with his arm half hanging out of the swaddle.  I tried to swaddle him in receiving blankets but our blankets must have been too small because I couldn’t get them tight enough.  About five minutes after swaddling him, his arm would be out (of course my sister could somehow swaddle him in the same blanket and he wouldn’t budge so it was obviously a failing on my part).
Then we tried this lovely Miracle Blanket – it had two mini flaps that were meant to secure his arms.  Then you swaddled him on top of that.  It was impossible for him to get his arms out (and for me to fail as a swaddler).  It worked!  After about a week of him protesting the swaddle, he finally started to calm down when we swaddled him and would doze off in minutes.
And then came Dolce. 
We had installed some gates on the door of the nursery and our room in order to keep the dog from getting in there and causing damage.  I’m not sure how, but he somehow learned to open the gate in our room (it’s one of those gates where you lift up and the gate door swings open) and would sneak in there.  One day I came home and found my trash can in a completely different location – and certain things missing (like used breast pads – eeewww gross – guess he likes the scent of milk).  I was relieved that the disposable diaper was still intact – I have a feeling lots of other dogs might have gotten into that (since we use cloth diapers we don’t have a diaper genie to put disposables in, so the few times we use them we just put them in the trashcan).
Then, on Saturday I came home to the above surprise.  The Miracle Blanket had been chewed up and left for dead on the floor.  One mini-arm flap was completely missing and a hole had been chewed in the back.  As you can see, it is not useable.  The miracle was in the mini-arm flaps.
That night I had to use the SwaddleMe and it was a complete failure.  Both Evan and I were not happy.  Yesterday I made an emergency trip to Babies R Us to get another Miracle Blanket.  Unfortunately, there were NONE to be found.  Not a single Miracle Blanket for purchase.  I kind of panicked and when I calmed down I decided to buy a Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle and see how that worked.  And just in case, I also bought a package of aden + anais Swaddle Blankets.  I was desperate and didn’t really want to have to go back if one didn’t work.
Last night we tried the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle and it seemed to work really well.  He calmed down the minute we swaddled him up and he slept as well as he has any other night (or maybe a bit worse because he has a cold and is really congested).  Thank you Halo. 
Bad dog Dolce.
Dolce has also eaten one of Evan’s pajama outfits and some toy that I can’t figure out (I just found the plastic rattle thingie on the floor when I came home).  Oh, and he also ate a corner of a really soft blanket.  I am just hoping all these things go through his system and I’m not stuck with a $3000 vet bill.
It’s a dog-eat-baby-stuff nightmare over here!!!  I don’t need a Baby Whisperer, I need the Dog Whisperer.

My First Run in Forever

Yup, you read that right - I finally got to go on a run.  It has been so long!  Last year at this time I was training for the Marine Corps Marathon - I was logging miles and miles training to run MCM in honor of my Uncle (you can read about my training here).  About a week before the marathon I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant.  Hubs and I were ecstatic!  I ran the marathon and that night, at our celebration dinner, we told my family that we were expecting.  Sadly, the very next day I had a miscarriage.  Hubs and I were devastated. We decided to try again and I got pregnant again in December.  Although I knew that my running the MCM while pregnant was not the cause of my miscarriage, it still made me really nervous to run.  So, I didn't run at all during my pregnancy.

I walked.  And walked. And walked.  I was a little sad because I had always envisioned myself running through my entire pregnancy - but I was just too nervous.

Last week I had my six week appointment and was cleared to go running again.  Woo-hoo!!  It had been so long since I'd put on my shoes and hit the pavement.  A few times while walking Evan I had really wanted to break out in a run, but I held back.  So, this was literally the first time I'd run since December.  Wow, was I excited.

Ivan got home from work and I quickly fed Evan and put on my running clothes (which actually fit, unlike my regular clothes) and headed outside.  I was so excited I forgot to snap a photo.

I thought I'd just do a short two mile run and figured I'd have to walk a bit; after all, it had been a while.  The weather was actually a bit warm and I was sweating.  I ran a hilly two mile course and didn't even have to stop.  No walking!  I even added an extra little hill at the end because I felt so great.

Don't get me wrong - my postpartum body felt a bit different.  My abs aren't quite together yet so I felt weak in my core area and my extra-large boobs weren't too happy to be bouncing around either.  It was hard but not impossible.  I felt so awesome when I finished the run.

Then I got a sore throat and have had a bad cold since then, so I haven't gotten back out there.  But, the most important thing was I actually did it.  And it felt great.  My plan is to run the B&A Trail Half Marathon in March - that will be my comeback.  I have plenty of time to train for it, although I'm not excited about training all winter, but it will be fun to get back out there.

So, we'll see how that goes.

But for now, I'll take that 2 mile run and consider it a huge accomplishment!

And since I have no photos of me running, here's a cute photo of Evan...

Fill in the Blanks Friday

It's about time I did another Fill in the Blanks Friday.  Are you breathing a sigh of relief that I'm not posting another baby post!  I guess the baby takes up my entire life these days so it's hard to think of things to post that don't have something to do with Maple Baby.  And well, I love him to pieces.  But it's time for a little Fill in the Blanks Friday with Lauren at the little things we do.

1. One thing I plan on doing to relax this weekend is going for a walk.  I'm not sure that that is relaxing these days though because I'm always worried that Maple Baby is going to have a breakdown.  Pretty much nothing is relaxing these days except nursing.  Why nursing?  Because Maple Baby loves to eat so I know that when it's feeding time, he's gonna be really happy.
   
2. A big pet peeve of mine is the fact that they have put so many commercials on FIOS Video on Demand.  I know, I know - my biggest pet peeve is related to TV.  However, I watch a lot of TV these days and I really get annoyed that when I'm trying to watch a VOD show there are so many commercials in it and you aren't allowed to fast forward. 
   
3. I am really loving my maternity leave.  I love spending every minute with Maple Baby, not having to get up at 4:45am for work (although I get up at a similar time to nurse), and spending more time with my husband. 
   
4. The rain is here for the day.  It actually poured and poured last night (I was up feeding Evan) and this morning but for now it has stopped.  It's suppose to continue raining all day though.  It's cozy being at home, watching the rain, and reading a book (ok, so I'm not doing that - I'm watching TV).
   
5. My favorite girly indulgence is trying on wedding dresses.  Ok, so I only did it once but it was so fun. 
   
   
6. A song I always get stuck in my head is If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands.  One of Evan's toys has the music to that song so I find myself singing it all the time.  Before that, I had that Whistle song in my head all the time.  I find that song completely inappropriate but so catchy.
   
7. The best cure for stress is a good run.  I haven't been running in forever and I am hoping to get my first run in today.  We'll see if I can find time it between nursing Evan and avoiding the pouring rain.  I'm sure I can't go far but I am craving the sound of my feet hitting the pavement.

I guess that's it folks.  I can't believe it's Friday already.  The days fly by and I feel like I blink and it's Friday again.  Have a great weekend!!

Even walking is difficult!

Sorry I haven't been posting so regularly.  My mom was in town for a week and I was enjoying her company - so blogging was back-seated.  Her visit was amazing and I was so thankful she came.  We had lots of time to hang out, chat, catch up, and she got lots of Evan time.  It was perfect.  I was so sad when she left.  It was back to TV and long days alone.  I am trying to get into some kind of routine though - to make the days more structured and less lazy (i.e. me sitting in front of the TV not moving for hours).  Even with a semi-routine it has been tough to find time to blog.  I am really trying to get things together so hopefully I'll be blogging more regularly, but no promises.  We'll see what happens.  This baby stuff sure is time-consuming!

Although I haven't been cleared for actual exercise yet (have to wait until my six week appointment), I have been cleared to walk. {Note - I wrote this a bit ago and today was my 6 week appointment - so I'm cleared to run - yay!!}  And I am trying to walk as much as possible.  I love taking walks and the weather is so nice these days that it's a crime to not get out.  Plus, since we can't open the windows in our house for fear of a stink-bug invasion, it's nice to get some fresh air.

Evan is not always a fan of walking though.  Sometimes I put him in the car seat (we have a BOB stroller with the car seat adaptor) and he falls right asleep.  Other days (like today), I put him in and he starts crying.  And doesn't stop.

This is him on a good day:

 

 

 I didn't take photos of him on a bad day.  Like today.

On Wednesdays I try to walk to my sister's house and visit with her for a few hours.  She lives about a mile and a half away and it's perfectly easy to walk to her place.  Today I left thinking I'd take a detour and make the walk a bit longer.  It was so beautiful out and I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible.  I turned the corner out of our development and crossed the street.

Evan started crying.

I thought maybe I could lull him to sleep so I stuck the pacifier in his mouth and we continued on our way - making the turn down the detour street.  Evan continued to cry.  And cry.  And cry.  I tried to bump him to sleep by putting one wheel in the grass.  This worked for a total of ten seconds.

A few feet away was a cut-through to the faster way to my sister's house.  I thought about it for about a minute and decided that we were going to have to abort the mission.  A long walk was not going to happen.  A short walk was becoming impossible too.  I needed to get to my sister's as quick as possible (and hopefully pass as few people as possible since people give me looks when I am walking with a screaming infant).

Since I hate to hear him cry, I took him out of the car seat and carried him until he fell asleep.  Yup, I had him in my left arm and I pushed the stroller with my right.  I did this for at least half a mile.  I tried putting him back in after he fell asleep but he wasn't in a deep enough sleep so he woke up and started crying again.  So I took him out and walked with him some more.  About ten mintues later he was completely out and I could put him back in the stroller.

My arm was about to fall off.

But we made it to my sister's house.  What a relief!

So, even walking can be difficult.  I really though babies loved the lulling of cars and strollers but Evan seems to defy the odds.  He is not a fan of either - although he cries less on walks than he does on car rides.  I'm hoping that the more he goes in his car seat the more comfortable he'll get.  I bought this overly expensive BOB running stroller with dreams of going on long runs with him.  Just my luck that he hates the car seat and will probably hate the stroller too.  I guess we'll see!

And maybe I'll get that long walk in tomorrow...

But he's so darn cute I can't be mad!

Maple Baby's Birth Story: Part III

And on with the pushing part of labor!

It was amazing how the urge to push just hit me.  And I was surprised that my contractions seemed to almost go away.  I could still feel them, but they weren't really as painful as they had been.  It was like the urge to push took over for the contractions - this was quite nice because I was so over the contractions.

I went back to the bed and started to push for a while.  My first thought was, "I am way too tired to push."  I was exhausted from lack of sleep and lack of food.  It was ironic because at the birthing center you are allowed to eat the entire time - no food restrictions.  However, I had been throwing up all day from the contraction pains that the only thing I had been able to keep down was a mango popcicle.  So, I didn't really have much energy.  The entire time I was pushing I kept thinking that this was really the hardest part of labor.  And in that moment I totally understood why people had scheduled c-sections. 

I pushed for nearly two hours.  I pushed mainly on my back but did try pushing on the birthing stool.  Unfortunately, I couldn't feel the urge to push when I was on the stool so it didn't work.  I probably could have gotten the baby out a lot earlier but no one told me that I was suppose to push on EVERY contraction.  Whoops!  Since my contractions weren't being monitored, the midwives had no idea when I was having a contraction.  I was worried about burning out too soon (must be the endurance runner in me), so I felt like it was more important to conserve my energy.  So, I'd have a contraction and push and then rest through the next one or two contractions.  I think maybe you are not suppose to do that.  Unbeknowst to me at the moment, the midwives were confused as to why my contractions were slowing down (in reality they were not, I was just not pushing on every one) so they kept giving me homeopathic medicine to speed up my contractions.  Well, it was working but I was still resting.  It wasn't until they had me try birthing on the stool that I realized they thought I wasn't having as many contractions as before.  So, when I got back on the bed I decided I would push for every contraction.  It was hard work.  I was low on oxygen so I had to be hooked up to the oxygen machine and lay on my left side in between contractions - so when a contraction hit I had to take the oxygen mask off and roll back onto my back.  This doesn't sound so difficult but believe me - it felt like climbing a mountain at that time.

Every time I pushed everyone in the room (one midwife, two birth companions, nurse, and husband) all cheered and said how close I was.  At one time I did reach down and touch Maple Baby's head.  I really thought this meant I was almost done.  It did not!  I must have pushed for an entire hour after this.  I kept thinking I only had a few more pushes left before he slid out - but no, it went on forever.  It was the strangest sensation because I could feel him coming out but the process was so slow.  I guess it's supposed to be slow so it gives your body ample time to stretch, etc.  However, in the whole scheme of pushing, I was hoping it would go faster!

Finally, I gave one final push and he slipped on out.  At 10:15pm!  It was the best feeling in the world!  I was so relieved.  He was also face-down, which was good.  For a while they though he was sunny-side up and made me do all these lunges to get him to turn around.  Since I didn't have a sonogram or anything, no one was certain if he ever was sunny-side up, but I was happy he was face-down when born.

They immediately put him on my chest and let me hold him while his umbilical pulsed.  It was pulsing strong for a long time - so we just hung out together.  When the cord stopped pulsing, hubs got to cut it and then they clamped it. 

Then it was time to get sown up.  Although I was really hoping to avoid a tear, I ended up with a second degree tear and needed 6 stitches.  It actually wasn't so bad.  I never felt the tearing when it occurred - I actually found the pushing to be pretty painless.  It didn't hurt at all and I never even felt the "ring of fire" that people talk about.  So, the midwife stitched me up, and minus a few sticks for anesthesia, that was pretty painless too.  I wasn't thrilled about tearing, but it could have been way worse so I'll take the second degree and not complain too much!  Hubs got to hold the baby while I was sown up - he was super nervous.  Little babies scare him - and Maple Baby was pretty little.

 After I was put back together, they put Maple Baby back on my chest and we stayed like that until the next morning.  During the night the birth companions and nurse helped me breast feed him and my sister cooked me some food so I had something to eat.  Other than that, Maple Baby and I just stared at each other.  Hubs was exhausted so he put a blanket on the bathroom floor and fell asleep.  There was room in the bed with me (it was a queen size bed) but he was afraid he'd roll over and hurt the baby - so he chose the bathroom floor.

The next morning the nurse came in and encouraged me to use the bathroom  and take a shower.  I did both but got a bit dizzy in the shower so I rested for another hour before they let me go home.  That morning they also weighed Maple Baby (7 pounds, 11 ounces) and measured him (20 inches) and then gave him his Vitamin K shot (he didn't even cry) and his eye drops.

At 10am we finally got the clear to go home. 

 I was definitely ready!  We hopped in the car and headed home.  It was so strange to have come to the birthing center with only a bag and to be leaving with a real, live baby.  Pretty surreal. 

All in all, the  birthing center was a great experience.  I would recommend it to anyone who wants a medication-free birth.  The atmosphere was so relaxed and welcoming.  It felt so much better than the births I have been to in the hospital.  Sure, there were definitely moments when I wanted an epidural and when I felt like the pain was too much, but I'm glad I stuck it out and stayed there. 

And compared to taking care of Maple Baby, out of the womb, giving birth was the easy part!

And if you're wondering what we named him....

we went with a name we had picked out months ago:

Evan

Maple Baby's Birth Story: Part II

Ok, on with the birth story!

When I got to the birthing center (around 4pm) they examined me and found I was 5cm dilated.  And then the midwife accidentally broke my water.  Whoops!  So, I guess I was in active labor and I wasn't going anywhere.  We headed upstairs to the birthing room and I hopped into the jacuzzi.  I had been so excited about hopping into a nice warm bath!  We don't have a bathtub at our place (well, we do but it has cracks in it so I don't like to fill it with water) and I felt like a nice warm bath would be awesome.  And it was!  I hung out in the tub for an hour or so.  Actually, I have no idea how long I was there.  It felt like forever.  The contractions were getting stronger and eventually I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore.  I called hubs and asked him to push on my back again and as he was trying to relieve my pain, I decided that it was too much.  I had had enough of these stupid contractions.

I called my sister to tell her not to come.  She had been planning on stopping by later in the evening, but I decided I was in too much pain and didn't want her to stop by.  I told her to just wait until the baby was born and come then. 

I also decided that I wanted to go to the hospital to get an epidural.  I think Hubs was relieved because he hated seeing me in so much pain.  So, he helped me out of the tub and I put all my clothes on (yup, I was sitting in the tub buck naked - I had no modesty at this point) and waited for the midwife to come back.  I was bouncing around on the birthing ball trying to manage the pain, but it wasn't helping too much.  When he, the midwife, came back I told him my decision to go to the hospital.  He was super calm and suggested we see how far along I was and maybe try a few other options before heading to the hospital (in retrospect it was obvious I was in transition - the stage of labor where you want to give up - and he was trying to stall me until I started pushing).  At that point I was 8cm dilated (it had been about two hours) and they were shocked at how fast I was progressing.  The midwife said that we could try a TENS unit to help mitigate some of the pain.  I had heard of this because Red Boots used one during her labor, so I decided to give it a shot.

While he went off to find the TENS unit, I writhed around on the bed in pain.  I tried "mooing" like a cow because I had read in Ina May's Guide to Childbirth book that "mooing" helped.  Well, maybe it helps in the beginning but it sure didn't help much at this point.  I felt like I was in the middle of one large contraction that never ended.  Eventually a nurse stopped in and suggested that I try and use the bathroom because sometimes if you have a full bladder it pushes on the uterus and makes it contract.  At this point I was willing to try anything, so headed to the bathroom.  She turned out to be right - the minute I used the bathroom my contractions got a tad bit lighter. 

They then came and hooked me up to the TENS unit.  They put two patches on my back and turned up the electricity until my pain got a bit lighter.  It actually seemed to work.  It didn't take all my pain away but it made it a lot more bearable.

And then I got the urge to start pushing...

Maple Baby's Birth Story: Part I

I have been trying to write this post for a while, but Maple Baby makes it a bit difficult.  Every time I sit down to write it, he starts crying.  And he can only be soothed if I hold him.  Of course.  Yup, he's crying right now.  He was sleeping so soundly and then the minute I try to write something, he starts waking up.

Now he's in his swing, so maybe he'll sleep for a bit longer.  I really should be sleeping since I don't get much sleep at night, but for some reason I can't sleep during the day very well.  And I feel like I have so much I want to try and get done during the day.  Eventually I'll crash, I'm sure of it!

Such a cute sleeping baby!

Anyway, so back to the birth story.

It all started on Wednesday, 5 September.

I had an appointment at the birthing center.  I wasn't feeling like the baby was coming any time soon and figured I had at least a week or two to go.  However, when the midwife examined me she said I was 90% effaced and dilated 1-2 centimeters.  She was certain I'd have the baby before the end of the weekend.  She then mentioned she could "sweep my membranes" to help speed up the arrival of the baby.  Before I really had a chance to answer whether I wanted her to do that, she had already done it.  Yikes!  She said if the procedure worked I would go into labor within 24 hours.  Hmm, was I actually ready for that???  Not sure!

So, I went home that night and felt a bit of cramping and was bleeding a bit.  The midwife said that that was going to happen so I wasn't too worried or hopeful that it meant anything.  However, at 12:48am (yes, I looked at the clock) I woke up feeling like I was starting to have back contractions.  I tried to time them but they weren't very consistent and sometimes they were hard to feel.  On top of the contractions I had a constant back pain that I would rate a 4 on a scale of 1-10 (10=extremely painful).  So, at the beginning it was hard to feel both the constant back pain and the back contractions.

However, as time went by, the contractions got stronger.  At around 6am I called the birthing center to see what they said.  I wasn't supposed to show up at the birthing center unless I had called them and they told me it was time to come in.  They said that because I was only having back contractions and nothing was coming to the front that I was still in early labor and to wait a bit longer and start timing the contractions when they came around to the front.  Hmm, well a long time went by and the contractions never came to the front.  However, they were getting stronger and more and more painful.  Hubsters didn't go to work that day because he felt I might be going into labor soon, so when I had a contraction he would push on my back and try to massage the pain away, which helped a bit.

At around 2pm, Ivan said I was in too much pain and I needed to call the birthing center again.  Let me just say, that he was NOT a fan of seeing me in pain and was constantly saying we should go to the hospital.  So I called and talked to someone different.  I said that the contractions still hadn't come to the front but they were really painful and happening quite close together.  So, she said to time them for the next 30 minutes and call back.  So, hubs and I went to work timing them and they were between 2 and 4 minutes apart!  When I called back they said to come in and they'd see what was going on.  I don't think they really believed that I was in labor because I was still just having back labor, but I was thinking that if this wasn't labor I would just DIE because I was in so much pain.

Hubs and I got our hospital bags together and hopped in the car.  I called my mom on the way there and she happened to mention that she had only had back labor and never had contractions in the front.  Hmm, so maybe this was the real thing.

I was really hoping it was...

He’s Here!

Maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t been around for a week or so.  Well, I finally had a good excuse.  Maple Baby arrived!  Yeah, I know that a lot of bloggers kept on blogging through labor and then were back at the blogging scene the day after, but I am not like that.  It took me a whole week to get back on the blogging bandwagon.

Either way, here’s a picture of Maple Baby:

I think he’s pretty adorable.  He was born last Thursday, 6 Sept. and we are slowing adjusting to having a new baby.  The first few nights were sleepless but we just love holding him and smothering him in kisses.  He pretty much sleeps, eats, and poops all day and eats and poops all night!

At times I still can’t believe that I’m a Mommy and that I have a little baby that came from me.  I will write a separate post on the actual birth, but let’s just say it wasn’t a pain-free experience!  I will say that the post-partum aspect of pregnancy has been way worse than the actual pregnancy and delivery.  The main problem is that I seem to have developed some kind of rash that has spread over my entire body (sparing only my face so far) and it itches like nothing else in my life.  It is really making me miserable as I scratch my arms and legs until they bleed.  And half the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it.  No one is exactly sure what it is – either PUPPPs gone wild or some kind of hives.  So, now I have some steroid cream to put on it and am taking Benadryl.  The last thing a new mom needs is the extra exhaustion that Benadryl provides!

Ok, I will write a more substantial post later on, but I wanted to announce little Maple Baby’s arrive!

Goodbye Office!

Friday was my last day going to work, until December.  Crazy to think about.  I am still working from home this week (not today, since it's a holiday), but I won't get to see anyone.  And I won't actually be in DC.  It feels so weird, to be honest.  I realize I could be sitting in my house for another three weeks before the baby comes, but I just didn't want to risk it.  I commute an hour and twenty minutes to work in the morning and an hour and 45 minutes home - and the idea of being in labor while on the bus or so far from home wasn't very appealing.  It is much more comfortable at home.

I will miss my office though.

A view of my office - with my alley window - do you see how close
the people across the alley are!

Here's a view of my office from the door.  It looks super neat and tidy but I snapped these pictures on my way out the door so I had cleaned it up before I left.  The mess that I was working on came with me (so I can finish it up at home) and then I put everything else away so that it didn't look like a disaster zone for the next three months.  It doesn't always look like a disaster zone, but occassionally the papers pile up and get scattered everywhere.  Check out the photos on the wall - those are little cow photos my mom took.  I brought them to work because I spend more time there than at home, but for the next three months I guess that won't be true.

Another view of the office

Here's the side view.  And yes, I do have stuffed animals on my desk.  They give my office a bit of character.  I have one of the funnest decorated offices in the building, I'm sure.  I just figured I spend so much time here that I wanted it to be as comfy and homey as possible.  So I have a ton of photos and knicknacks that remind me of all the people I love and the things I care for right at my fingertips.  I just got this new office in January, so I'm quite happy with it.  My last office was really big but the front part was used to store boxes and files so it was a bit crazy in there. This office is smaller but it's all mine and I like it much better.  Plus, it has a window - a hot commodity in any office building!

Ok - that about it.  I guess this post is pretty appropriate since it's Labor Day and this is where I normally labor.  In the next few weeks I'll be laboring in a completely different way though!  Haha - I can't tell you how many people have made that joke - about how funny it would be if I went into labor on Labor Day.  Yeah, I don't think it's gonna happen, but we still have today!

Hope your weekend has been going well and you're enjoying your extra day off (if you're lucky enough to get it)!

Fill in the Blanks Friday

I love filling in the blanks!   If you want to fill in some blanks, visit Lauren over at the little things we do and link up!

1. Over this Labor Day weekend I will be waiting for Maple Baby to show up, walking with friends, going to church, hitting up Sunday brunch, and cooking Honduran enchiladas with my former bus friend (she's still my friend, she just doesn't ride the commuter bus anymore...).  Sounds like a good weekend to me!

2. With the political debates going on right now, my current thoughts are not concerned with them.  I have pretty strong political leanings and I already know which candidate I'm going to vote for so I don't really pay attention to the debates.  I like to read the results of the debates and the synapses of both convention speeches, etc., but I don't actually watch them.  I don't watch any TV to be honest.  And I don't particularly trust what politicians say when they are running for office - you never know what they truly believe until they are voted in.

3. Today is my last day in the office.  I am actually sad.  It is so weird to think that I won't be back here until December.  I will definitely miss my work friends and the interactions and the fun times we have.  Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to spending time with my newborn and all that, but it will definitely feel weird when I leave today.  Crazy!  I am still working from home next week, but that is a much different scenario - no 4:45am alarm clock, no 1.5 hour bus ride to work, no 2 hour bus ride home, no 12 hour days, etc.  Did I mention it feels weird????

4. The best thing I've cooked recently was crepes?  I haven't really cooked too many fantastic items during my pregnancy because I haven't been too hungry or too motivated.  I have started cooking crepes for hubs in the morning though and they turn out pretty tasty.  I made fried rice last night but it didn't turn out so tasty.  I can't think of anything amazing that I've cooked recently...maybe after baby comes?  Probably not!

5. The last thing I bought was baby-related, I'm sure.  Probably a diaper.  Oh wait, I know.  The last thing I bought was a subscription to The Honest Company Household Essentials Bundle.  The Honest Company makes diapers and organic, chemical-free household products (like detergent, hand soap, sunscreen, bug spray, surface cleaner, shampoo, etc.) and I have been wanted to subscribe to their service for a while.  I got the free sample in the mail and I love the stuff.  We won't use the diapers, but I am happy to have found a good company that makes safe household products.

6. The best movie I saw this summer was nothing.  I didn't see a single movie all summer.  The last movie I saw was Hunger Games (which was awesome), but it wasn't during the summer.  I love the movies but we just haven't had time to go.  Or money.  I doubt we'll have much time after Maple Baby comes either.

7. The best book I read this summer was nothing.  Yikes!  I didn't watch movies and I didn't read - what did I do????  I read some baby books but I sure wouldn't list them as "best books" or anything.  I am currently reading Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson, which is good, but I 'm not even half-way done.  And now that school has started I'm not sure how much reading I'll get in.  We'll see.


******************************

What good movies or books have you seen/read this summer?

What are your Labor Day plans??  BBQ?  Last pool visit?  Beach?

What is your favorite dish to cook?

Bump Shot: Week 38

And another week has passed us by.  They sure do go by fast.  I am still a bit in shock that I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and actually almost 39 (since the Bump Shots always get posted a bit late).  It seems like yesterday I was just 8 weeks pregnant feeling like I had so long to go.  I know, I know, I could still have over three weeks to go.  But still - it's coming up fast.

I feel like I should be a pregnancy pro these days (I mean, I have 38 weeks of experience!), but things just keep changing every week.  I was reading Baby Kerf and she was talking about new pregnancy symptoms that were cropping up and I could relate almost to the T.

** I am experience some serious hot flashes.  It is the weirdest thing because I am NEVER hot.  I am always the cold one.  I always cover up at night, I can wear pants when it's 100* outside, I am freezing in my office when everyone else is complaining of the heat.  I now know what they are going through.  I also know what menopausal women are going through too!  I'll be sitting at my desk and all of a sudden I'll feel my body temperature slowly rising.  And rising.  And rising.  Until I'm really hot and a little sweaty.  I don't actually have sweat running down my face, but I probably have a few beads sitting on my forehead.  It lasts for a while and then goes away.  STRANGE!

Ok, I thought I had some more new pregnancy symptoms but I can't think of anything else.  I am still sleeping GREAT (except when hubs wakes up and wants to have long conversations at 3am or Dolce the Dog has nightmares and starts barking/howling/crying in the middle of the night and I have to go over and wake him up).

** My biggest fear these days is that my water will break without me knowing it and hubs and I will have sex and infect the baby (sorry about the sex mention - probably TMI but how do you think I got pregnant...).  It's probably a crazy fear, but something I think about.  But so many people tell me that your sex drive disappears after you give birth and you don't want to think about sex for weeks and weeks - so I feel like if I'm up for it now, we should keep on doing it.   Ok - enough sex talk!

**  I'm also a tad bit nervous that I was really stressed and anxious this entire pregnancy and I've somehow damaged Maple Baby emotionally.  I read somewhere that women who are pregnant in war zones have a higher tendency to give birth to children that later develop schizophrenia.  And schizophrenia is more common in boys to begin with...  Ok, so I don't live in a war zone but I've been stressed for a lot of the pregnancy.  And not just superficial stress - I've had numerous occassions where I'm so anxious and stressed that I get that pit in my stomach and my heart races.  That can't be too good for the baby.  I really hope that when I wasn't stressed I was super happy and that those emotions transferred stronger than my stress hormones.  I hate to think I already screwed up his little life....

** I only have one more work day left at the office.  I can't believe I'm going to be gone for an entire month.  There are so many transitions happening at work that I'm a bit nervous about what will be going on when I get back.  I still have a week of working from home, but it will be so weird not being at the office every day.  And not commuting.  I'm excited to get some time off and to be able to be home with the baby, but I think I will miss work and my project.  So many exciting things are going on and I had to pass them on to other people.  However, I'm sure I'll cry the day I have to bring Maple Baby to daycare and return to work!

** By far the hardest thing this pregnancy has been drinking enough water.  Isn't that crazy!  I thought the hardest thing might be back pain or sleeping or heartburn or any other symptom.  But no, I didn't have any of those symptoms.  The most difficult thing for me has been trying to get enough liquid in my body.  Yesterday I had a cup of coffee in the morning (decaf) and then it was 3:30pm and I realized I hadn't had a single other thing to drink.  All day.  Whoops.  So I guzzled 16oz of water before going home and then brought a bottle of coconut water to Chemistry.  However, the midwives told me I needed to drink 2L of water a day and I am completely falling short.  I hope I don't give birth to a camel...

**  And lastly, as stated above, I had coffee yesterday!  My love of coffee is returning!!  Woo hoo!!!  I loved coffee with a passion.  Last year while I was training for the marathon I switched to decaf because I thought it would help reduce inflammation in my legs, but I still drank it every morning.  Then I went to Guatemala in January and suffered some serious morning sickness and my love of coffee went down the drain.  I didn't want a single cup.  Ever.  I think during this entire pregnancy I had coffee a total of five times.  I just didn't have any desire for it.  If I needed a small pick-me-up I drank a cup of green tea.  However, this past week I made some coffee and realized I now love it again.  Yum, yum.  Ahh, the simple pleasures.

Back to School...and other random stuff

I have a bunch of random stuff on my mind, so I decided to share it all with you.  In all it's random gloriousness.

***I can't believe summer is over and I'm heading back to school tonight.  I'm just taking one class (Chem 101), but on top of 12 hour days, month 9 of pregnancy, and normal life - one Chem class is all I can handle.  Ok, that's partly a lie since this is my last week of commuting to work for a while.  After this I am working from home and then I'm on maternity leave.  But I think I'll still have long days after Maple Baby comes!  But I'm so close to finishing these pre-reqs that I didn't want to take a semester off (I only have Chem 102 and Human Growth and Development left after this).  This may or may not have been the smartest choice on the planet (taking classes during my maternity leave).  I will talk to my lab professor tonight and see what he thinks about me missing a lab (since it's inevitable that I'll give birth soon and I can't promise that going to lab that week will be the top thing on my list).  If he seems to think that there is no way I can pass if I miss a lab, then I still have time to drop the class.  From reviews of him on RateMyProfessor.com, it appears he's an old guy.  This may or may not work in my favor.  Old men can be over-the-top understanding when it comes to pregnancy...or grumps.

I admit that school is not the first thing on my mind right now and I can't seem to muster up a lot of energy.  I'm hoping that I can muster through though.  I'm sad because all my friends are taking Chem for Allied Health and I am stuck in real Chemestry.  Boo.  One of the schools I want to apply for requires two semesters of Chemistry and the only way to take the second semester is to take Chem 101, rather than Chem 107 (the easier Chemestry).  One of my friends was willing to take the regular Chem with me but it didn't work out with his schedule.  So, I'm all alone.  No more friends to motivate me, be my lab partner, and answer my 900 text messages because I wasn't paying attention.  I will have to survive on my own.

***I don't have any pictures for you because my camera ran out of batteries.  It's a good thing too because I replaced the batteries.  Otherwise we may have shown up at the birthing center with a battery-dead camera.

I put the new batteries in but then forgot the camera at home.  So, nothing of interest to show you.

I'm not sure what I would have taken a picture of though.  My one new notebook?  My super exciting Chemistry books?  Who knows.

***Maybe I would have snapped a picture of the weird guy who sits in the office across the alley from me - in the dark.  It's spooky.  His desk faces my window and he's kind of hard to see without his office light on (because of the glare), so it looks like there is a ghost in there.  It's pretty dark in the office because our window faces a very tiny alley that doesn't get much sunlight - so I don't understand how he can see anything.  I am so spooked out that I closed my blinds.  Yup, I have a window office and I have to keep the blinds down.

***I also coached my last golf class yesterday.  No more First Tee until the spring.  I haven't not coached a session in four years!  I have always done spring, summer, and fall.  My co-coach will be coaching with someone else for the first time.  I will miss those kiddos, but it sure will be nice to have Sunday mornings free.

Hubs is already excited about church and brunch (what replaces First Tee in the off season).  Honestly, he is much more excited about brunch than church I think, but he is always up for church.

***And one more funny story.  On Saturday hubs decided to put on his wedding suit to see if it still fit.  It did.  But then he refused to take it off.  He insisted on wearing his suit to run errands.  I'm serious.  He wore it to the bank, to the Mexican grocery, to Target, and to Chipotle.  I was wearing capris, a t-shirt, and flip flops.  It was hilarious.  I wanted to take a picture but he thought I was making fun of him so he refused.  He made some comment about how much my father had paid for the suit and how he never wears it.  I told him we could eat out at fancier restaurants and he could pull it out for that.  He seemed to think that it was a stupid idea to spend more money just to wear the suit.  He thought it was perfectly reasonable to just put it on for Saturday errands.  Sometimes I wonder about him!


What random things are happening in your life???

Five Question Friday

I decided to link up with My Little Life and play along with her Five Question Friday.  I haven't done it for a while but felt like today was a good day.  So here we go!

1. If you could have been (could be) any profession you wanted (brains and $$$ no problem) what would it be?
   Hmm, pretty much if brains and $$$ would be no problem I would rotate through professions.  Does that count?  I am hoping to go back to school for nursing, so I'll definitely list that as the number one profession (and I hope I have the brains and $$$ to do that!) but I would also love to get a teaching degree and do that for a bit, and I think microbiology would be interesting (like vaccine research) for a time (although I wouldn't want to be in the lab for too long).  Oh, there are many things I'd love to do!
2. How often do you clean out your car?
   My car isn't too messy actually.  We have stuff in the back but it's all "useful" like ice scrapers and road atlases (yes, we are one of the VERY few people without a GPS).  My husband usually cleans out the car though and I'd say he does it about once a month or so?  Sometimes more and sometimes less. 
   
   
3. Do you wish there was such a thing as fashion police or are you deeply relieved?
   I do think Fashion Police would be a good thing at times.  I am appalled by what other people where sometimes.  I would also love some type of motivation to look decent.  I don't usually leave the house in sweats or anything, but I could improve my wardrobe.  But in all honesty, Fashion Police sounds pretty dictator-ish so I wouldn't really vote for something like this.  It's just fun to think about.
4. What's your go to food/drink/activity when stressed?
   Good question.  I've never really thought about it.  I think I cry when I'm super stressed.  I like running when I'm stressed, or walking.  I always feel so much better.  I also enjoy venting to my friends.  I'm not sure I have a particular food or drink.  Although these days wine sounds so relaxing....
5. If you had twins, what would you name them?
   Geez - people are overwhelming me with baby name questions!  Hubs and I are having enough problems trying to come up with ONE name for our non-twin (regardless of the number of times my co-worker has tried to convince me that I'm having twins and that they have synchronized heartbeats, which is why I only hear one heartbeat at the doctor's - I am only have ONE baby).  When I was in the first grade there were identical twin girls in the other first grade class and their names were Maria and Miranda.  For some reason, I loved those names together.  I think I would just give them two names - not really names that rhyme or names that start with the same letter or anything.  But who knows.  It's HARD naming children in real life.

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And now I'm off to enjoy my Friday!  I am soooooooooooooooooooooo glad it's Friday - what a rough week it's been.

Bump Shot: Week 37

This Bump Shot is a bit late, as I started my 37th week on Sunday and it's now Thursday, but oh well.  I didn't have a chance to post earlier.  Hubs has been obsessed with playing Yahtzee every night so that has made it difficult to blog.  And to be honest, I enjoy spending time with him and would prefer that to our normal routine where I blog and he watches TV.

So, how is pregnancy going in Week 37?

The same as Week 36.  Not too much difference.  But here are my thoughts:

* I am getting a little annoyed with having to drive to the doctor's every week.  Weekly appointments are not fun.  I love hearing the heartbeat and making sure Maple Baby is healthy, but every week seems like a lot.  I feel like we're there all the time.

* My Braxton-Hicks contractions are out of control.  Seriously, my stomach constantly feels like a cement rock.  It is crazy.  Even when it's "soft" it's still super hard.  I don't know what's going on in there, but a rock hard tummy makes it difficult to sit.  If it's true what the midwives say, that it is my uterus building strength and practicing labor, then my uterus will be a body-building machine by the time we're through.  It's too bad that my tummy won't be this "tight" after pregnancy!

* My appetite has drastically reduced.  It's weird.  I expected to be hungry all the time at this point in my pregnancy, but I'm not.  I have a normal appetite at lunchtime but for dinner I have almost no appetite.  I cook a nice dinner for hubs and then I eat five bites and don't want anymore.  And normally when this happens it means I just don't want what I cooked for dinner so I eat a bunch of other stuff (like ice cream sandwiches and chips, etc.).  However, now I just don't want anything.  The doctor told me I lost three pounds in a week.  He said it was completely fine and that a lot of people lose some weight at the end of their pregnancy but that he was going to "keep an eye on it".   So last night I ate a huge bowl of pasta at 9pm after we got back from the docs.  I think it was too big and too late because I then threw up at 3am.  And to gross you out even more, none of the pasta was digested.  Hubs said that I should not have chosen spaghetti with tomato sauce because it's too acidic.  I would have to agree with him.  Tonight I am going out for Indian food with my college friends - I will have to make sure I don't go overboard and I stay away from tomato-y sauces.

* My clothes are getting too small.  My shirts are starting to get a little short.  My pants fit fine but shirts that easily covered my bump now hang a tad bit high.  I know that belly shirts are coming back in style (the horror!) but I don't think that they mean belly shirts on pregnant women.  It's not really very flattering.  I haven't gotten a stretch mark yet (according to my sister, she got all of hers AFTER delivery) but I can assure you that my big, ol' belly is not sexy and no one wants to see it hanging out of the bottom of my shirt.  It's a good thing I only have to go to the office one more week because I'm not sure what I'd wear after that.

* We finally got the nursery done this past weekend.  That was a huge feat.  I feel very relieved that it's set up.  We even put the baby/doggie gate across the door so that the Dolce-meister can't get in.  I am still working on my hospital bag though.  I put stuff in the bag, I just have to purchase some things that need to go in there.  Like juice (we had bought some but then drank it all) and snacks and batteries.  We have been extremely broke this week because we spent all our money on hubs's new glasses (seriously, $400+ for glasses is ridiculous) and my Chemistry books ($200+) so we couldn't buy anything until pay day (that may also be why I lost three pounds...we have no food in the house).  This weekend we should be able to buy a few more things and finish up the hospital bag.

* Hubs is getting more and more excited.  And nervous.  And terrified.  I think he's going to be a raving lunatic when I go into labor.  I mentioned to him that the baby wasn't moving around a lot and he got over the top worried (so I then had a talk with Maple Baby and told him he had to move around all the time, so he's now a moving machine).  So now hubs calls me ALL. THE. TIME. to make sure the baby's moving.  I also made a comment that maybe my water had broken and was leaking a tiny bit (which it wasn't) and he made me call the doctor and find out exactly what amniotic fluid looks like, etc.  Pretty much, I can't tell him anything because he turns into a crazy worry-wort.  I asked him what he worries about the most and he said that he's afraid I might die in childbirth. I guess that's probably more common in Honduras than here and I tried to tell him that there was a very slim chance that I'd die (unless we got in an accident because he's driving to the birthing center like a crazy person).  However, he gets more and more worried every day.  It's a good thing we have the doulas because I think they may have to give him some chill-pills.

So, those are some of my pregnancy thoughts this week.  I am still feeling like the birth is a ways off.

What do you think?  Any predictions on when I might go into labor?

I am officially due on 9/9....