Wandering about aimlessly in the Doldrums…

I’m sitting here at work and I just can’t get motivated to do anything.  I managed to cancel the 2PM appointment I was supposed to have today because the person going with me is out sick, but other than that I have barely done anything work-related since I walked in the door at 8:05. 

I’ve tried everything… writing down my list of stuff to do today (which seems to be never ending), working on some personal stuff hoping to jump-start my brain into tackling work matters, and even doing a little Twitter surfing.  None of it seems to be helping and I’m trapped in the Doldrums.

To make matters worse, I feel like I’m fighting off a cold *and* I’m burning up hot.  Either our office is really warm, I’m developing a fever, or the baby is starting to regulate my temperature.  No matter the reason, I’m screwed.

How do you get yourself out of the ‘I don’t wanna do anything constructive today’  mood?  I’m in need of some suggestions…

31 weeks down, 9 or so left to go.

I hit 31 weeks on Monday and realized after reading all the nifty baby sites that the baby’s whole development plan from now until she enters the world is to put on weight.  Sure, she has to work on that whole ‘making-sure-her-lungs-are-ready-to-breathe’  thing, but other than that her sole purpose in life (well, other than working on her kung fu moves) is to pack on the pounds.  This is probably the one time in her life that she won’t be worried about her weight, n’est ce que pas?

What’s going on with me, you ask?  Here it is…

• Almost every conversation I have with people begins with, “How are you feeling?”  Sometimes I want to punch them even though they’re being nice.
• Little Miss is moving about almost constantly.  I feel her up high, down low, and anywhere in between.  She’s making the laptop dance at the moment.  Also, I don’t think she likes Shiloh (our Aussie) because every time she rests her head on my belly the baby kicks her.  No kidding.
• I’m starting to lose the war between my mind and my body.  My brain says, “Go-go-go-go!” while my body says, “Yanno what?  Let’s stop and rest for a while.”
• On the other hand, I’m getting LOTS of books read.
• Nursery is chugging along!  Room is painted, closet organizer is installed, and the crib is put together.  Hopefully it will be done soon.
• We made it through the childbirth class… well, kinda.  We sat through the first night of classroom and fully detailed birth videos but couldn’t take the touchy feeley hippie stuff of the second day.  I had to bail because I was so uncomfortable.

Other than that not much is happening baby-wise.  Next appointment is a week from tomorrow.  I’m on the every other week schedule now.

Oh yeah!  Question for you guys… is your labor experience similar to that of your mom’s?  Only reason I ask is because I’m praying the answer is yes.  I talked with my mom this weekend and she said that when she had both me and my sister that it was roughly 4 hours from the time her water broke / labor started until she delivered us.  I can only wish / hope / make sacrifices that it will be the same with me.

Have a great week!  ~k

Baby Blahs?

Warning – this post is super introspective, quite long, and possibly depressing.  Read at your own risk.

Wondering Why I Haven’t Commented on Your Blog Lately?

There are several reasons why.  Keep reading.

1. I didn’t know you HAD a blog.  Shoot me the link so I can keep up with what’s happening with you.
2. For those of you that have blogs that I’ve commented on before… I’ve been relying on the RSS feature of AT&T’s Uverse site thingie to provide me with notifications when my friends in the blogosphere update their sites.  Needless to say, it’s a pile of crap because it shows that Claire hasn’t updated her site in over a week and there’s over 5 new posts on her blog that I have missed.  I’m a bad bad friend.
3. I’m too lazy to go out to the actual blogs every day and see if there have been changes made.

If you have a good way to keep up with reading everyone you care about’s blogs, please shoot me links so that I can keep up and not be such a jerkface.

Seriously, I didn’t even read my own husband’s blog… I had no idea it had been updated.  Stupid AT&T!

Week 30 + Doctor Appointment Notes

So here we are in Week 30… only 10 more weeks to go!

A quick look at what’s happening with baby:

• She’s about 17″ now from head to toe
• Lots of practice breathing & hiccups
• Able to regulate her own body temperature.  I think this is the point where I start to get reaaaallly warm.
• Definitely has her set schedule for being awake and moving about.  Prime time is anywhere between 7:30PM and 10:30PM.  Luckily, she doesn’t wake me up in the middle of the night thumpin’ & bumpin’.

What’s going on with me?

• I feel like I’ve been pregnant FOREVER.  No, that’s not an exaggeration.  What makes it even more horrible is that I know it’s going to get worse in the next few weeks.
• Sitting in the bathtub feels absolutely wonderful; getting in and out of the bathtub now requires forethought, flexibility, and sometimes assistance.
• I pretty much sleep through the night now with the exception of getting up to pee or reposition.  I start the evening in a sitting straight up position and end up on my side when I wake up. 
• I need to get my butt back to the gym.  I gained 7 pounds since my last doctor’s appointment; only 1.5 of it was from baby.
• The nursery is coming along!  We now have paint on the walls and the crib is assembled!
• We’re doing our Childbirth class this weekend – that’s going to be good for some laughs 🙂

Notes from today’s doctor’s appointment:

• Yes, I gained 7 lbs for a weight gain of 14 lbs total.  This is depressing since I was doing so well throughout the first two trimesters.  Looks like I got complacenet with the third trimester. 
• Baby weighs in at close to 4 lbs and is measuring at a 32 week baby, not a 30 week baby.  Doc says that based on the current trend that she will be 8 – 8.5 lbs when she’s born.
• We’re now 95% certain she’s a girl.  Oh yeah, that reminds me… I still have to explain to Ben how the doctor knows she’s a girl from seeing the three white lines.  That’s going to be a funny discussion.
• Other than that, everything is going well.  I start heading to the doc every 2 weeks now so my next appointment is March 5th.

Week 29… Better Late Than Never, eh?

Pretty much these last few weeks (11 and counting!) are all about her gaining weight and getting ready for her grand entrance into the world. 

Here’s what’s happening with baby:

Your baby is almost 17 inches tall now (nearly as tall as she will be at birth), and close to three pounds (a weight that will likely more than double — and may even come close to tripling —  by delivery time).  TRIPLING?!?  Say it ain’t so! 

Her wrinkled skin is smoothing out as more fat is deposited under the skin surface.   Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.  Is that what I feel pressing against my bladder?

Space in your baby’s living quarters is now at a premium, so you’ll be feeling jabs and pokes from elbows and knees mostly. But those kicks will be more vigorous than before (and also less erratic) because your baby is stronger and excitedly responding to all sorts of stimuli — movement, sounds, light, and that candy bar you ate half an hour ago.  Or when Daddy says loud curse words when Mommy jacks up his Zune. 

What’s going on with me this week:

• None of my ‘normal’ pants or pre-pregnancy undwear fit now.  This sucks.
• I have an insane craving for anything with fake orange flavoring in it – the biggest culprits being Hi-C orange drink from McDonalds and orange creme slushies from Sonic.
• I think I’m developing pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel in my wrists.  I’m sleeping in some funky positions and wake up every morning with pain and swelling in my wrist and thumb joints. 
• It’s official – the ‘can’t-sleep-through-the-night-because-I-hafta-pee’ stage is here.
•  My nesting urge is increasing, especially as it relates to the nursery getting done – I now know how people with obsessive compulsive disorder feel.
• I’m spending 1/2 hour to an hour a night in the bathtub trying to get the achiness and pain out of my joints.  Stupid Relaxin!
• My registries are done (thanks for all your help!) and invites for the baby shower have gone out *whew*.

So yeah… enough about Week 29.  I move on to Week 30 on Monday and have all sorts of fun scheduled for next week including a dr’s appointment that I *think* includes my last u/s.  Maybe we’ll get confirmation that it’s really a girl 🙂

What I’ve Learned This Weekend…

Hmmm.. this could become a permanent fixture on my blog 🙂

• Laundry never ends.  Never.
• Taking a nap at 6PM means that you wake up at 6AM the next morning raring to go.
• You’d be amazed at what you can do when you get up at 6AM on a Sunday.
• I can’t believe how much better I felt about my Explorer when I got it washed today.  Now if only I did something about the inside…
• Warm weather that melts all the snow is absolutely fantastic – until it comes time to clean muddy pawprints off every floor in the house, including the stairs up to our bedroom.
• Nagging doesn’t work.
• I’m super freaking lucky to have a husband who likes to cook and actually DOES it.  Even though I bitch about it sometimes, cleaning up after him isn’t so bad.
• I wish my husband would beat this stupid Pirates Xbox game.  I’m tired of listening to the soundtrack.
• Hour long uninterrupted baths in the middle of a Saturday afternoon are heaaaaaavenly.
• I can’t believe I got sucked into a series about werewolves.  Bad Kristy, bad!  (If you’d like to join me in rotting your brain check out Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series)
• Facebook is alternately the coolest thing in the known world AND the biggest pain in the ass known to man.
• I’m super anal retentive when it comes to tracking our budget and spending.  Can you say “14 worksheet spreadsheet?”

How was YOUR weekend?

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words…

Someone has captured how I feel in a graphical form!

Week 28… Only 12 weeks left to go!

What’s going on with baby:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb.  Looks like it’s time for flashlight tag!

She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.  Wow – things are happening pretty quickly, eh?

What’s going on with me:

Your uterus is a little more than 3 inches above your bellybutton.   Your weight gain at this time should be between 17 and 24 pounds.   Ha!  I’m beating the odds again 🙂

Gone, most likely, are the days when you could call pregnancy “comfortable”. These days, your baby’s kicking (or lack of) is keeping you up at night and worried during the day, your feet are swollen (nope – not yet), you’re getting tired all over again, (affirmative – I’m wiped out by 7PM) and your backache is a pain that just won’t quit (hmmm.. not yet, but I’m sure it’s coming).

Allison, Brad, and Griffin came to Columbus on Saturday to save my sanity and help me sort out my baby registry.  We quickly learned that I no longer fit into a booth at Chili’s – the hostess kept apologizing over and over again.  At least I look pregnant and not just fat… that would have been embarassing!

I think I finally have a grip on everything we need and will get the mess that is my registry sorted out while Ben is away on business.  It’s just me and the dogs from today through late Wednesday night.  I’ve got to get a handle on it soon since baby shower invites will be going out this week.

My discomforts aren’t all that bad, really – I took for granted how great I felt in parts of the second trimester once the tiredness came back.  I was completely wiped out from shopping at BRU and going to lunch with everyone this weekend – by 5:30 I could have used a nap.  No back pain to speak of (yet) and I’m almost sleeping through the night (woo hoo!).  I think I’ve finally found a comfortable position within my Snoogle prison.  Having more and more difficulties getting out of chairs, sofas, and other seating positions.

This baby is MEGA-active!  She’s now moving all the time when I’m sitting at my desk at work, in the shower, driving, and any time I sit down.  I woke up in the middle of the night last night (thanks, Ben!) and a few seconds after I woke up she was thumping and bumping, too.  Now I get worried when I *don’t* feel her for a long period of time.  Prime time still remains 8 – 10PM – those are the biggest movements.  My adrenaline must have been realllllly pumping last night during the SuperBowl as she was constantly moving around.  It probably had a lot to do with everyone around me yelling and screaming, too. 

Next doctor’s visit is in a little over 2 weeks – February 17th.  We’ll see how things are going then – n1ot sure if I’m due for my next ultrasound then or not.

What I’ve Learned This Weekend…

It’s been a great weekend here at the Rogers household.  Here’s a quick rundown on what I’ve learned:

• Women who are 7 months pregnant do not fit into the booths at Chili’s.
• Columbus needs additional snow removal workers and/or plows because even the main secondary roads were still a mess on Saturday.
• Steelers fans gravitate to other Steelers fans in public places.
• Ben can not read my mind.
• Some Scooby Doo movies were real stinkers.
• My days of staying up past 10PM seem to be at an end.
• Going to Babies R Us on a Saturday is a big mistake.
• I thought that Colin Cowherd’s voice annoyed the crap out of me – he’s even worse when I watch him on TV.
• There are way too many unknowns about the whole breastfeeding thing to register for anything.  I’m still confused.
• I can no longer hop out of bed, do several loads of laundry, dishes, get dressed, go to lunch, and then spend 2 hours at BRU without getting seriously wiped out.  My batteries were *depleted.*
• I like it when Ben is out of the house doing his own thing and I can get things done.
• Picture frames over size 8×10 are really expensive – even at 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby.
• Meijer is not the place to be on a Saturday night following a winter storm with another one possibly on the way.
• My favorite pair of pajama pants no longer fit 😦
• If I’m this big at 7 months, I can’t even imagine what I’m going to be like in the last few weeks of my pregnancy.
• I hate washing and folding sheets.
• Sometimes it’s easier for me to do things myself rather than waiting for other people to get them done for me.
• I need to get back to the gym at some point this week.
• I really enjoyed getting out on Friday night to have dinner with girlfriends… even if I did have to drink a virgin mango margarita 🙂