Friday, December 27, 2013

The First Week!

Age
One whole week old!

Favorites
Sometimes when she's waking up she makes a little pterodactyl squeal...it is the cutest thing ever!

When she poops, she goes totally limp and gets this completely dazed look on her face.

When she crosses her legs.  Such a little lady!  I have so many pictures of her sleeping, it's disgusting.
When she folds her little hands up under her chin.  I have yet to get a picture of this, but don't worry.  It'll happen.

Jacob not wanting to put her down in the hospital because he'd "waited 9 months to do this!"
Daddy daughter story time :)

Milestones
Being born!  I'd say that's a pretty significant one.
First Nana sweater...a pretty important milestone for the Fuchs/Weber clan
Look how big it is on her!!  Wizard arms!
First smile!  Not really smiling AT anything, but just in her sleep a few times. It's the best.
I caught a little glimpse of one here
First (and second) doctor's visit.  These were not as fun.  At the first doctor's visit she had dropped almost a pound, but by the second visit she was 6 lb 10 oz, just 2 oz short of her birth weight!  She had also grown from 18.75 inches to 20.25 inches!  An inch and a half in less than a week, that's crazy!!
Surprises
I had no idea I was going to like having a baby so much.  The waking up every 2-3 hours to feed, the diaper changing, the crying...it all has this layer of cuteness over it because it's MY precious little baby that's doing it and I'm interested in everything that she does.  It's so much more enjoyable than I thought it would be!  Part of this is no doubt because Grandma has been here, being a HUGE help with the laundry, cooking, shopping, baths, etc.  I might feel slightly more challenged once I'm on my own and Jacob is working full weeks again :)
She had a little bit of a sore throat when she first arrived so she wanted to be extra careful!
Other Notable Moments
Bringing her home from the hospital
Waking up in the middle of the night sweating so profusely that I thought I peed my pants. Hormones are great.

Feeling so frustrated because I would spend forever breastfeeding and still she was losing too much weight and her bilirubin levels her rising (she always falls asleep while I'm feeding her!) BUT THEN after talking to the doctor, Jacob & I made a plan of action and less than a day later everything was already a million times better.  Two days later and she was almost back up to her birth weight!  It's just a good reminder that when I'm really frustrated or feeling like a failure, it can turn around SO quickly and everything will eventually be ok again.

Oh man...if I thought pregnancy dreams were weird, they have nothing on these in-between-feeding nap dreams.  For example, one night I had a dream that I saw this kid from high school walking around in my neighborhood.  When I asked what he was doing, he said he was geocaching.  Also, he had the most enormously thick prospector's mustache I've ever seen, which actually kind of worked for him.  I had another dream that I was trying to take a shower, but Justin Timberlake kept stopping me saying things like I hadn't cleaned my room or I was just trying to skip school or I needed to write on my wall with soap first.  It ended with me pushing him up against the wall and yelling, "YOU ARE NOT MY DAD, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!"

This parenting fail...
I woke up last night to Jacob stroking my cheek, which I thought was really sweet...until he started tapping it with his thumb like we do to wake Jenna up when she falls asleep eating.  Then he took his hand and gripped my chin, like he does to Jenna when he's burping her.  I'm trying to figure out if he's joking around or if he's sleeping when all of a sudden I hear him mumble, "That's not Jenna's head."  I busted out laughing and said, "Nope, it's mine."  He grunted, rolled over, and had no memory of it in the morning.  It was fantastic.

Looking Forward To...
Being able to stretch out her nighttime feedings a little more.  At this point, we're still having to wake her up when it's time to eat.  When she gets a couple weeks older I'm hoping to move towards feeding on demand...especially because right now she's not demanding very much haha.  Hopefully then she won't be so tired whenever I try to feed her!!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Wrapping Up the Pregnancy


Had to get a before and after shot!

 Ok, obviously this wasn't ACTUALLY taken the day I gave birth to her.  You've gotta cut me some slack though,  I was a little busy.  A 5 day photo delay is not too shabby.
Important note: I have decided NOT to retire this blog.  My intention was just to create a pregnancy blog, and I've absolutely loved being able to look back and remember those little details about pregnancy that might've otherwise been forgotten.  I was thinking about it and if I want to remember my pregnancy, I'm DEFINITELY going to want to remember Jenna's life!  So the blog will continue.

HOWEVER, I think this is going to be the last time I will post my blog onto Facebook...maybe the second to last, since I might post the labor story.  Therefore, if you want to keep up with the Marcotte family and our adventures with Baby J, you can subscribe using the little e-mail widget to the right or you can follow my blog with Bloglovin <-- just click the link :)


How far along?  39 weeks and 3 days 
Total weight gain:  We ended at an even 40!  I'm glad, I like even numbers.
Maternity clothes?  My maternity clothes amounted to a total of: a couple of Target maternity tanks (best things ever), one maternity shirt that I wore like twice, a skirt, a swimsuit top, some work pants, and some hand-me-down jeans from a friend.  I was able to wear my regular clothes for the entire pregnancy, which is AWESOME.  Thank goodness I'm a teacher and cardigans are my lifeblood.  Also yoga pants, but I have no excuse for that.  And...ok just between me and you?  I personally did not spend a single dollar on maternity clothes.  My mom bought me all of the aforementioned clothing items (minus the hand-me-downs) as a gift to "start me off," and I just made it work from there.  I'm actually kind of secretly proud of this...
Sleep:  At the end I had so many naps and early bedtimes.  I woke up randomly around 4:30 a lot...half of me suspected that it was a sign she would be born at 4:30, which is obviously nonsense and the fact that I was thinking that was actually a sign that I had way too much time by myself.
Best thing about pregnancy overall:   Going for the obvious here, but having the baby.  I LOVED being pregnant...but not being pregnant is so much better haha

Miss Anything?   Overall, I missed cold meats the most.  The first thing I ate after Jenna was born was a turkey sandwich...just plain turkey on white bread and it was the BEST. THING. EVER.
My sister knows what's up.
Movement:  Feeling her move around was incredible and I often wondered if I would be a little sad after she was born because I couldn't feel her anymore...nope!  Watching her move around is a million times better, and now I don't have to be worried about kick counts (which I was never very good at) and other crazy things like that.
Food cravings:  Most notable food cravings throughout the pregnancy were fruit and chocolate, although in the days leading up to giving birth, food didn't interest me that much at all.  Total quease-fest.
Anything make you queasy or sick:  Um yes, labor.  Labor made me queasy AND sick.
The baby bump:  To be honest, my baby bump did not get as big as I thought it would.  Granted, I still totally felt like a house, but I was still able to put on my shoes myself and could see my feet if I leaned forward just a little...I feel like those are things most full-term pregnant people are not supposed to be able to do.  I guess this was nice, it was just surprising.
Gender:  Girl!!  I guess you never really know for sure until they're born, so I can say this with full confidence now!
Labor Signs:  At my last appointment (two days before going into labor) the doctor said I was 1 cm dilated...woo hoo, progress!  One labor sign I DIDN'T have was that last minute "nesting" instinct everyone keeps talking about.  Pretty much all of 2nd and 3rd trimester I was nesting like CRAZY...at the end of my pregnancy, I was just tired and wanted to nap all the time, so I did.  I feel like a lot of my pregnancy was opposite of what it was "supposed" to be...food aversions 1st trimester? False, everything tasted AMAZING (too amazing *cough*40pounds*cough*).  Nausea ending during 2nd trimester?  False, that's when it started.  Huge burst of energy before you give birth?  False, you could've renamed me Sir Napsalot or Big Naps McGee, and I wouldn't have noticed because I would've been asleep.  I slept through most of my contractions, for crying out loud (I'll write more on my labor in a different blog post).  Ah well, I guess I've always been a bit of a rebel.  I also didn't have diarrhea leading up to labor, which was the one sign I was for sure counting on having.  Again, more on that later.
Belly Button in or out?  That bottom half stubbornly refused to pop out.  I am so surprised, I thought for sure this was my second chance at an outie.  Maybe the next pregnancy.
Wedding rings on or off?  Off
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Other than some ridiculous mood swings and crying about toast, my pregnancy was a very happy time!

Looking forward to:  Everything :)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

39 Weeks

Yes, I know that's a sprig of evergreen and not mistletoe...we improvised, ok?

We actually had a lot of trouble taking this picture because Raven kept wanting to be a part of it too haha...family photo!!
How far along?  39 weeks down, ONE TO GO!!!!!
Total weight gain:  Unknown, I couldn't get into the doctor until later this week. No huge loss there! (emotionally OR physically...lol, see what I did there? You know, because I just keep gaining weight...)
Maternity clothes?  Same old, same old
Sleep:  Well, I stopped grinding my teeth so that's positive.  Other than that though, I have been getting to bed later than usual because I've been doing really important things like watching videos of cats on Roombas.  [No doubt, I will look back at this when I have a baby waking me up every two hours and will want to throw up on my past self for wasting so much precious sleep time]
Best moment this week:  Officially signing up for my first 5k!!  This is altogether astounding, I know, especially since I've probably never run one consecutive mile before.  Truthfully, I've probably never run one full mile combined over the course of my life.  
There was NOTHING anyone could say to convince me that running was a good idea in school.  When we had to do the mile run in gym class, I just made it my goal not to be last.  Dream big, I know.  My mile times were seriously like 20 minutes.   Anyway, I don't know what possessed me to do this, but it's happening and I'm actually kind of excited.  Get ready for a really fun 3.2 mile walk, Rachel!!!  Just kidding, I promise I'll at least try and jog like half of it...
Miss Anything?  Yeah, my brain again.  Normally, I remember things really well but as that hasn't been happening lately, I've taken to writing down the things that seem important in my phone as I think of them because there's no guarantee they'll be in my brain when I need them to be.  Although to be honest, I have no idea why I've written half of this stuff...just to give you a few examples, the top things on my list right now are "Is a fish a reptile?"  "Bacon burgers"  and  "That girl who brought a cookie cake."  Clearly, the important things in life.
Movement:  Yes, but it's MUCH lower...almost level with my belly button.  Baby has DROPPED!
Food cravings:  Tamales!  I wanted them so bad I almost bought some out of the back of someone's pick up truck, but luckily our friends provided us with some legit ones.  YUM!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  It comes in waves, but oh yeah.  
Have you started to show yet:  LOL
Gender:  Girl
Labor Signs:  Nausea, going to the bathroom more often, a few contractions here and there, in addition to the whole dropping thing.  I am READY!
Belly Button in or out?  More out than in, but still weirdly shaped.
Wedding rings on or off?  Off
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, but I got really really bummed yesterday when I had a few contractions and then they stopped!  What a tease.  I really thought it was go time and was SUPER disappointed that I have to wait longer.  We are READY for you Jenna!!!!!

Looking forward to:  HAVING!  MY!  BABY!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Pregnancy: UNCENSORED!

Just kidding, I will probably censor a little.  Can you blame me?  Some of pregnancy is super gross and some mental images you just can't erase.  That being said, there are quite a few personal details here, probably a little bit of TMI and also one really gross picture.  You've been warned.  Feel free to stop reading.

As my baby could come any day now, I've spent some time looking back at my blog, just for kicks and giggles. As I did this, I started to realize that there were some things that I didn't write about or certain pictures that I didn't post.  Part of this is because I didn't know how I felt about blogging at first.  Who was I primarily blogging for?  Me?  Far away family members?  Baby J?  A book to put on our coffee table?  Each would result in very different details being shared and as a result I ended up posting basically nothing [see Week 11.  What in the world?  Why am I so boring?]  Clearly, as I've regaled you all with the weekly ongoings of my belly button, I'm now over this, but there are a lot of early details that are missing because of my indecisiveness.  

The second reason I didn't post some things is because sometimes there are thoughts you don't want to put into words until you know how they're going to turn out.  Will this memory/feeling/fear be something that is funny 10 years from now or something you don't bring up around the family unless you want everyone leaving super pissed?  Thankfully, everything has turned out well thus far and in the interest of posterity and maybe helping others who have felt the same feel not so alone, I'm going back to put these things into words.  Plus, full disclosure...I have this image in my mind of Jenna looking through a Snapfish book version of these posts during her first pregnancy and I want her to have as many details as possible.  Strange that I'm already picturing my unborn baby having an unborn baby?  Probably. Sorry, Jenna.

Alright, so without further ado, general pregnancy timeline with randomly added details and photos:

Getting Pregnant
Don't worry, I won't include the gory details.  I do just want to say...Natural Family Planning works!  We just didn't do it right haha. Title this section of the saga:  "Surprise surprise, I'm irresponsible = SURPRISE!  You're pregnant!"  We were planning on starting our family in a few months anyway, so the timing here was actually pretty great.  BUT we weren't expecting it which leads me to...

Finding Out We Were Pregnant
Here's why I love NFP...I know EXACTLY when I ovulated.  Not the average ovulation date for the average woman's cycle, but legit when my ovary released that little ball of 1/2 of Jenna's DNA to meet up with the other half.  When did I ovulate?  April 2.  When did I start experiencing pregnancy symptoms?  Exactly one day later, on Jacob's birthday.  Happy birthday, honey!! I made you a baby.

So anyway, we go to dinner and I was trying to be a trooper, but about halfway through the meal I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.  I think my words were something like, "Babe, happy birthday, I love you so much and this BBQ is the best I've ever had, but I don't think I can physically be awake another second."  I fell asleep on the drive home.  (FYI, this same exact scenario played out on my birthday.  Just exchange "BBQ" for "seafood" and take out the part where I tell Jacob happy birthday)

The next few days pretty much went the same.  Get home from work, make dinner, eat, go to bed by 7.  After about a week of this, this conversation happens:
  Jacob:  How can you possibly be so tired? You've been sleeping 13 hours a night for the past week!
  Me: Really?  That can't be true.
  Jacob:  Do you think you might be pregnant?
  Me:  What?  No, there's no way.  
A few days later...
  Me:  Are my boobs getting bigger? Maybe I'm pregnant...

Cue trip to Walmart to buy pregnancy tests and waking up at the butt crack of dawn day after day because apparently that gives you the best results.  Negative...negative...negative...maaaybe positive?  Cue taking a thousand pictures of a pee stick so I can obsessively analyze throughout the day and play with the contrast on my computer screen to figure out if that is actually a second little pink line or not.

Cue second trip to Walmart to buy dummy-proof test because the first kind is giving me a heart attack, and plus I've used them all up already.


Boom.  Pregs.  Thanks ClearBlue!
Sometimes, Pregnancy is Scary
This is the part where my happiness is clouded over by the worst freaking experience of my life.  I blocked out quite a bit of this, so I forget some of the details but here's the gist: I started spotting, which I read was normal, but then it went on for like 5 days.  I'm starting to get nervous. At some point I called the doctor and they say it's was too early to see me but to wait it out.  The bleeding gets worse, so they send me to get my hCG levels tested.  Three days later...tests are inconclusive, I need to get another test.  Have to wait over the weekend, on Monday no one calls with my results, I call them on Tuesday, nurse practitioner tells me that my levels more than doubled.  I say, "Oh that's good, right?  Thank goodness, does that mean it's not ectopic?"  She says, "No, I didn't say that."  I say, "Oh, but it's a good sign, right?" She says, "It could be.  Honestly, I don't know if it's going to stick."  I'm sorry, are you the devil?  Why would you say that to me??  I didn't ask any more questions because frankly, I was too afraid to hear her answers.  This started a few days of obsessive internet research about hCG levels, culminating in me bringing a multi-page packet with color coded highlighting to my vice principal (who knew about all of this because I kept having to leave work for testing and because she's a great friend).  First of all, are we surprised that I accumulated a packet of color-coded research at some point in this pregnancy?  No, we're not.  But my VP gave me GREAT advice which was basically to calm the heck down.  My research wasn't helping anything and if anything was making me more stressed, which definitely wasn't helping.  So here I will repeat that advice to pregnant people who are nervous something will go wrong:  Relax and enjoy, take care of the fact that you're pregnant right now and don't worry about anything else.  Perfect advice, and that's the ONLY reason I'm exposing this awful (and awfully long) paragraph to the general public.

Reveling in Being Pregnant
This was the best.  We got to tell our families and friends (videos and stories about this are posted here, here, and here), we went to the library to check out books about pregnancy (Jacob was really into that part of it), DIYed the chalkboard into existence, started the blog, and went onto websites that predicted what our baby would look like, which was always hilarious.  This part was awesome.



First Trimester
The most memorable things about first trimester was just that I was CRAZY tired.  I have huge bags under my eyes in all of my early chalkboard pics.  I also pretty much gave up doing my hair, which adds to why I looked completely grosky.  I would get home from work, nap, wake up to eat, and then go to bed.  I also was avoiding caffeine like the plague, which my students definitely noticed, and not just because they chose THIS time of year to start a coffee-selling fundraiser.  ("Miss, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you should start drinking caffeine again.  You're a lot nicer after you've had your coffee") Sorry to my 8th graders if I was a total slacker teacher, I barely remember being alive.  I DO however remember that all food tasted RIDICULOUSLY good and that I cried about EVERYTHING!  I accidentally almost started a riot against my husband on the last day of school...one of the students asked what I was doing next year and I said I was going to be a stay-at-home mom.  My student then said, "You're not going to be a teacher anymore?"  In my mind's eye, I pictured myself saying, easy as you please, "Nope! I'm not going to be a teacher anymore!"  In actuality, I opened my mouth and just started sobbing uncontrollably.  My students all got REALLY concerned and were like, "Is your husband MAKING you stay home, Miss?"  "You don't have to listen to him!"  "You can still be a teacher if you want!"  which made me laugh and cry all the more.  All I could do was just shake my head, sob, and say, "No *sob* I *sob* want *sob* to *sob* stay *sob* home!" *collapse sobbing into my hands*  They must think Jacob has me chained to the wall or something haha

Other than that, this trimester involved a LOT of self control.  I was the MOST careful to avoid coffee, read all cheese labels, overcook ALL of my food, etc. during the first trimester.  I was so nervous something would go wrong and just wanted all of her organs to develop ok.  (I've since eased up on the avoiding caffeine thing and have officially become a Starbucks Gold member since.  Look at me!)  The HARDEST thing to keep under control was our excitement!! Jacob and I couldn't WAIT to start telling people...it was like the slow leaking of an overinflated balloon.  FINALLY being able to share with the whole world was the. freaking. best.




Second Trimester
Second trimester is where you're supposed to feel amazing, but this was not the case for like the first month of mine.  This is where my morning sickness really started.  I'd had a few moments of sickness in the first trimester, but second was where it really kicked into gear.  If I was in the car, I had to sit perfectly still looking straight ahead with my teeth clenched or I would be sick for the rest of the day.  And regardless of car activity, each evening I had a headache right around dinner time that ended with me vomiting around 8.  Side note, this is also approximately when one night Jacob had an upset stomach, farted, and it smelled so bad that I threw up.  That was probably his proudest pregnancy moment.  Also, this post where I talk about how great our anniversary was?  Yeah, I conveniently neglected to mention the part where I started crying at the dinner table because I had such a terrible headache and didn't have any Tylenol because we were in the middle of an island.  Leave it to me to be crying because we're on a beautiful island. The waiter and Jacob were SUPER nice about it.  The waiter even brought me some Advil and even though I couldn't take it I appreciated the gesture.  Plus side pregnancy symptom: I got a HUGE burst of energy and started psycho cleaning e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  I'm not sure I even knew we had base boards before, but once second trimester hit, they sparkled!

BEST part of second trimester was finding out we were having a girl!!!  I'm going to throw two truth bombs at you here.  Truth bomb #1: I knew it was a girl from like week 9, but I didn't want to say that I had this really strong feeling because what if it turned out to be a boy?  I wouldn't want him to think that I was disappointed with him being a boy AND I didn't want to FEEL disappointed finding out it was a boy because I had been expecting a girl. I tried to play out both scenarios equally in my head to keep it fair, but deep down inside I kept hearing "Girl! Girl! Girl! Girl!"

Truth bomb #2:  I'm not sure Jacob really knew we were pregnant until we found out we were having a girl.  I would try to talk to him about it and he would try to engage but...really he had no idea we were having a baby.  This is a picture of me when we were about to find out Jenna's gender:

Clearly busting at the seams with excitement.  Ok, now here are the pictures of Jacob:


Look at that face!  That is the face of a man who has no idea he is having a child.  It took everything I had just get him to open his eyes!  Luckily, after we had the appointment, things totally changed.  This was his first time really seeing Baby J on the ultrasound and after we found out she was a girl, things got super real.  We started talking about names, we started talking about how she was going to look and what kind of activities she would be involved in, Jacob started talking about teaching her how to play sports...things we still haven't stopped talking about at almost 39 weeks.  This, in my opinion, is the best part of being pregnant.

This trimester was also awesome because it's when I first started feeling her kick!  First little flutters around week 15/16 and then definite kicks around week 20.  Pretty amazing.

Oh yeah, AND I loved this trimester because it's when I really started to show!!!  It was especially crazy for Jacob because we were in different states for a couple weeks and before I left there wasn't much of a bump, and then when he saw me again it was like HELLO BABY!!  And I got to blow up his phone with text messages like this:

To which he responded...


Third Trimester
I think this was about the time I started to get really obsessed with my belly button.  I wanted it to pop out SO bad and Jacob sooo didn't.  Also, I had a ton a free time which resulted in this:


In case you were wondering, this is the gross picture.
Third trimester was probably my easiest, up until the very tail end.  I felt great, I had a decent amount of energy, I was starting to feel a little large but nothing too crazy.  Setting up the nursery was amazing.  I just love going in there and seeing her tiny little clothes hanging in the closet on those tiny little hangers.  All of the baby showers were amazing too...I really just felt super loved and cared for by my friends and family and LOVED having them all gathered together!  Huge blessing all around.  I especially loved the tree painting my little sister made and how Jacob and I got to sign our prints Mommy and Daddy (his idea...melt my heart, why dontcha!)



 The last month or so has been a little tougher.  Little bit of heartburn, little bit of nausea, kind of exhausted, super nervous to be a parent, but SUPER excited to meet my little girl!  Labor is going to be a whole different ball game, so I'll leave all those details for another day.

Other random overall side notes about pregnancy: constantly congested (can't wait for that to be over!), often constipated, overly hot and sweaty, extra sensitive skin (tags have never been so annoying), lots of huffing and puffing, a weird feeling in my feet like my toe joints were all swelling, but really excited and happy the majority of the time.  And honestly, despite the nausea and exhaustion and what-have-you, being pregnant is pretty much one of the best things EVER and I will miss it!

Phew!  Long post, and I will probably be the only one who reads the whole thing (except maybe Jenna someday).  Anyway, it's for posterity so at least I have all the memorable moments written down somewhere in this blog.  Here's hoping there are many more! :)

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

38 Weeks

So...freaking...pregnant...
How far along?  38 weeks
Total weight gain:  37 pounds...pack 'em on while you can, baby.  It's all coming off soon!
Maternity clothes?  Oh yeah clothes...I suppose so.  Although I've been BOILING hot all week!  Not because it's hot outside anymore, just because I'm pregnant.  We've been keeping the house around 60 degrees most of the time and I'm still walking around in tank tops.  Jacob had made a few comments, but it didn't click how freezing our house really was until I realized that even my dog was cold.  Whoops...
Poor puppy!  I promise, most of the time she does like living with us...
Sleep:  I've been sleeping pretty well, but have apparently been feeling extra anxious because I've repeatedly woken myself up grinding my teeth!  Ugh, isn't that awful??  I have never done that before and I hope it doesn't keep happening!  Or maybe I just need to cut down on the caffeine before bed.  Something needs to change, that's for sure. 
Best moment this week:  Making cinnamon ornaments and doing other Christmas-y things with James and Dominique!  We basically hit up every classic Christmas activity short of staging a live nativity...which is still not totally out of the question in my opinion, depending on whether or not we have an actual baby to put in the manger before Christmas.  Just sayin'.  Raven would make a really cute sheep.

Miss Anything?   You know what?  Glass half full.  Pregnancy has some downsides, but for the most part I think I'm going to miss being pregnant.  Well...being pregnant like it was for the first 34-ish weeks.  I could do without feeling like a complete whale all the time.
Movement:  She's really taken to punching me in the cervix lately which, as my OB says, "always feels really special."  For those of you who have never been pregnant before, let me translate: special = HOLY SMOKES FOR THE LOVE OF CHRISTMAS MAKE IT STOP!  Just so you know.

Food cravings:  Blugh, nothing.  My only two motivations that have kept me eating have been 1) I'm trying to grow a human here and 2) in the hopes that eating food will help settle my very queasy stomach.  If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't be eating anything at all but the desserts at small group.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  For the past few days I've been getting extremely nauseous around the same time of day...this is JUST like when I was getting sick in my second trimester.  I googled it and apparently it's a sign that your body is preparing for labor so I will take it with a smile!
Have you started to show yet:  Yes, obviously.  My baby is the size of a WATERMELON.  I feel like I'm about to bust out of my skin!
Gender:  Girl
Labor Signs:  SLIGHT progress here!  The nausea, for one.  The doctor also told me that it feels like her head has dropped a little and while I'm not at all dilated yet, it seems like I'm trying to dilate...whatever that means haha.  Hopefully we'll have more progress here next week!
Belly Button in or out?  Most of the time, it's actually pretty flat.  Except when I stand, then it looks a bit like a doorstop.

Wedding rings on or off?  Off
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Er...happy, I guess although I did have a few outlandishly tearful moments this week.  Chalk it up to the same hormones that are making me sweaty and nauseous.  Basically, I'm a total catch right now.

Looking forward to:  HAVING MY BABY!  I'm feeling very very ready to meet her!!!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

37 Weeks


How far along?  37 weeks!!!  It took everything I had not to be double fist pumping in this photo.  Baby J can be born safely anytime now!
Total weight gain: I think I'm at 35 now?  I don't know, I'd have to check, but frankly my purse is really far away and math just feels like a lot of effort.  Let's just say I'm overall less than 200 and call it a day.
Maternity clothes?  Not much of a choice, these days.  Although I will say...I used to be appalled by my tummy poking out of the bottom of my t-shirts (Winnie the Pooh style) and wore an extra long tank top underneath at all costs.  Recently though, I've just started to own it (around the house only, obviously.)  It makes me feel like...I don't know, Mike Hagerty or John Candy or something.  Just...jolly like somebody's weird uncle who's visiting for the holidays and walking around carefree in sweatpants with a beer giving strange life advice.  Or maybe it's just getting too hot outside to wear two layers of shirt, I don't know.
Sleep:  Yes.
Best moment this week:  Getting extra time with the hubby this week!  He got Thanksgiving and the day after off so I feel like we had a bunch of time together to reconnect, laugh, read, talk about parenting, buy a Christmas tree, watch him play video games, go on walks, nap...we're livin' the high life here, friends.

Miss Anything?  Cold meats still.  I'm coming for you, salami!
Movement:  All the time.  She keeps pushing her foot against my side.  I felt the full outline of her foot the other day and another time Jacob was practically grabbing it and moving it around.  That's probably a weird thing to do, but I think it's so cool.  It makes her seem so tangible.  Soon I'll be able to hold her foot for real!

Food cravings:  Doughnuts.  I think about them all the time, but I try not to.  Friends from up north: I will give you $1000 (worth of love because I don't have any real money)  if you ship me some Entenmann's.  $2000 (worth of love because again...totally broke)  if they're the chocolate ones with the crumbs on top.  Or the waxy ones.  Or the waxy ones with the chocolate insides...you know what?  I'm not picky. 
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not so much, although heartburn is frequently making guest appearances.  Actually, it's less like heartburn and more like Jenna kicking my stomach and everything in there is just...temporarily displaced.  No amount of Tums is going to fix that, son!
Have you started to show yet:  As the lady sitting next to me in church stated while everyone was greeting each other, "You're due Christmas Eve??  It looks like you're due like...now!"  Normally people just say good morning and shake my hand but hey, that's cool too.
Gender:  Girl
Labor Signs:  None.  Zip.  Zero.  She hasn't even dropped a millimeter as evidenced by the fact that I woke up this morning with her foot wedged between two of my ribs.  My doctor has started to talk about setting an induction date, just in case.  Obviously it's early still and anything could happen, but I'm more intrigued by the idea than I thought I would be.  TBD.
Belly Button in or out?  Oh, who knows what's going on down there.  Something semi-flat and semi-pointy and wholly bizarre.
Wedding rings on or off?  Off...I'm really hoping this doesn't last long after Jenna's born.  I'm starting to have dreams that Jacob married someone else because he wasn't sure if we were married because I was walking around with a purity ring on instead of my wedding band.  I was SUPER mad at him when I woke up which I realize is both bogus and unfair but...come on.  Somebody has to be held responsible for those shenanigans.
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, except when my dream husband marries someone else (who looks suspiciously like Emily Thorne from Revenge with just as mean of a glare)

Looking forward to:  Well this is a weird one but...my hair falling out after I give birth.  I have a LOT of hair on a regular day and after 37 weeks of prenatals and pregnancy hormones, it's pretty much unreal.  I went to go get a haircut this week and my stylist said "Well Julie, I didn't think it was possible but you really do have more hair. It's even thicker than it was before!"  Yep, and it's making it IMPOSSIBLE to look nice.  I swear, every day it looks more and more like a Christmas tree.  Festive?  Yes.  Flattering?  Not so much.  I thought it would get better after it was cut but it didn't really help.  Before it was long and puffy and now it's just...less long and puffy.  I honestly think that 50% of my hair could fall out at this point and it would look a million times better than it does now.  Just sayin'.