We Made It a Whole Month

I clearly underestimated just how time consuming life with a newborn is.  Most days, my biggest accomplishment is taking a shower.  It's a bonus if I also get three meals in the same day at relatively normal times.  We were lucky enough to have Andrew stay home with us for the first two weeks after Isabelle was born.  The start of week three meant we had to send him back off to work. Even when he wasn't really "doing" anything, it was a huge help for me having him around and having that emotional support. The first day he left to go back to work I was scared out of my mind.  I had flashbacks to the day after we brought Buddy home when Andrew left for work and I sat there looking at Buddy wondering what we had done and why anyone trusted me with the total care of another.

I have lost track of the number of episodes of random shows I have watched on Netflix over the past five weeks. Yes, I'm sure that sounds like a glorious vacation to some. Honestly, I'm not sure how many of those episodes I actually remember. I can't seem to stay awake for more than two episodes at a time and usually find myself nodding off on the couch multiple times throughout the day.  Luckily, I can count on the dogs barking at someone outside to wake me up!  There have been many days I sat on the couch  thinking of my "to-do" list, and the list of things I thought I was going to get done on maternity leave. Note to self if we decide to have another... don't make a list of things to do while on maternity leave. Most days my internal debate is if I should eat breakfast while Isabelle is down for a nap, clean up the kitchen, start a load of laundry, or sit on the couch and pray for sleep to come. Sleep and food usually win out!  Unfortunately, my post-partum recovery was also hindered this last week when I developed shingles. One of the joys of pregnancy and the post-partum period is a compromised immune system; prime time for shingles to develop. Since we have a newborn in the house, I didn't take the wait it out approach I normally do.  I went to the doctor to confirm my suspicion and was placed on a week long dose of medications.  I think we are safely out of the woods on Isabelle coming down with chicken pox from my case of the shingles. 

This week, I have been thinking a lot about my return to work, which is coming up next week.  I'm sad that my time at home with Isabelle is coming to an end. However, I'm a little excited about returning to work. As I told Andrew last week, my work gives me a sense of purpose. Frankly, these last five weeks, I have felt a little lost. I'm in the midst of trying to figure out this new role of mommy and how that fits in with my identity as I have come to know it over the past 29 years.  I hope this next week, once a few of my normal activities such as working and going to the gym return to my life, I start to adjust to my new normal. 

It's hard to believe our little lady already turned one month old. I remember when we were in the hospital and we were debating getting newborn pictures taken. Both our parents encouraged us to get them taken and said in even one month she would change so much that we would like having those pictures to look back on.  This last week as I worked on birth announcements, I realized just how true that statement was. She has already changed so much.   We used up the last newborn sized diaper today, and I was a little sad knowing that she fit them so perfectly when we brought her home from the hospital.  

Since most people ask the all important question about sleep; no, she is not sleeping through the night. She typically wakes up one to two times during the night. Bedtime still is a struggle most nights. One night she will go down at 11:00 with no issue, and the next night she really doesn't go to sleep until 1 or 2 in the morning. I haven't quite figured out how that is going to work when I go back to work next week. I can't function on four hours of sleep. 

Other than the sleeping thing, she really is a great baby. She has started to smile and "talk" to us, which I love. She is doing great holding her head up. She doesn't seem to hate tummy time. She typically loves bath time, although I think she likes bath time when daddy gives the bath way more than when mommy does. She has pretty much outgrown newborn clothes and has now moved up to 0 to 3 month clothing. For one piece outfits, she is actually in three month outfits and even some of those are a bit too short for her.  There were some tears this week as I packed away several newborn outfits and brought out more of her three month clothing.  She is already growing so fast!  

This coming week, I go in for my six week follow up with the midwives.  It's strange that I haven't seen then for six weeks.  I got used to seeing them every other week and then every week.  I hope to get the all clear to get back into the gym.  I have been trying to take the dogs on walks around the neighborhood, but I'm also ready to get back into more of the structured workout.  Walking two beagles doesn't provide the most consistent walking pace.  Also coming up for us are family photos; fingers crossed little miss cooperates! 

 

 

Welcome To Parenthood: Weeks 1 and 2

We have made it through the first two and a half weeks of parenthood with only a few meltdowns and more than a few tears from multiple members of the household.  Over the past few weeks, we have had a crash course in parenting.  I did a lot of reading before I got pregnant and during my pregnancy, and thought I had most of it figured out.  No amount of research and reading could prepare me for the roller coaster of emotions over the past two weeks.

Of all the lists I combed through on Pinterest before having miss Isabelle, none of them covered a few key things I have now learned and wish I had known ahead of time: 

1.  Your emotions starting on day three or four after delivery are going to be out of control.  It's normal, and it will get better soon.  While I knew my hormones would be all over the place after delivery, I wasn't prepared for the total crash a few days after coming home from the hospital.  While I was in the hospital after having Isabelle, I was riding the high that came with delivery.  Once we were home, a new reality set in.  I cried at the drop of a hat over absolutely nothing, or sometimes it was actually over something.  I was a mess, and poor Andrew had to pick up the pieces more than a few times.  One late night feeding I looked down at our new little bundle and broke down at the thought of sending her off to daycare in six weeks, which is something I never thought I would struggle with.  That's only the tip of the iceberg on things that caused me to cry that first week after delivery.   

2. It's OK if breastfeeding doesn't come naturally and you and/or baby struggle with it.  In all my reading before delivery, I had created a perfect image in my head of our little bundle arriving and instantly having an amazing latch and getting all the nourishment she needed from me.  What I wasn't prepared for was the possibility of supply issues, soreness, issues with latching, or the total dependency breastfeeding creates.  We were sent home from the hospital with some samples of supplementation formula.  While I had every intention of exclusively breastfeeding our beautiful bundle, I wasn't prepared for the potential of not being able to keep up with her needs.  On our second night home as she was screaming, seemingly out of hunger, we caved and broke out a bottle of formula.  After scarfing down two ounces of formula, our bundle passed out.  I spent the next several days hating myself for giving in and giving her formula.  I'm not sure how many times it took Andrew telling me that it was OK and I wasn't a bad mom before I actually believed him.  Luckily, my supply has picked up with the help of some herbal supplements, tea, lactation cookies, oatmeal.... breastfeeding is a job, and I'm still trying to iron out the details of my new job.  For now, we have struck a balance between breastfeeding and supplementing with formula.   

3. Babies don't sleep through the night right away.  Sleeping still isn't something we have mastered just yet.  Someone doesn't like "bedtime".  Most nights, it is a two to three hour process to get her down for the night.  I realize, she is only two weeks old and this will come with time.  This sleep deprived mama hopes this fight will only be for a few more weeks.  Luckily, she is good about waking up every three hours to eat.  It was only a few nights ago that I stopped setting an alarm to wake her up.  I finally realized after two weeks that she wakes up to eat every three hours like clock work.  The nights I was setting an alarm, she was waking up ten minutes before my alarm went off.  The first night I didn't set an alarm, I was worried sick she wouldn't wake up to eat.  Luckily, I can add that to the list of silly things to worry about as a parent since she woke up every three hours like a champ.  Feedings have become a little more efficient now too, so when we do wake up it isn't for two or three hours at a time.  Someone also should have told me that the first and second night home are likely going to be the worst, because they were.  I was up for a four hour stretch with her our first night home because she woke up every time I would try to put her back down in her bassinet.     

4. Take care of yourself.  People told me this before I delivered.  The nurses and midwives told me this after I delivered.  It's true that you are no good to anyone if you don't take care of yourself.  Ask for help.  I hate asking for help, it literally pains me when I can't do things for myself.  However, I knew I needed to be able to let others help me for a few weeks while my body was recovering.  Things are sore after delivery.  I can't spring up of the couch like I used to.  I get tired walking the dogs down to the corner and back.  I have to take a break after folding a load of laundry.  At the end of each day, I have to remind myself this is all OK.   After a week and a half of no driving and being stuck in the house, I asked Andrew to watch Izzy while I ran to Target.  It did a world of good for me to get out of the house even if it was for thirty minutes.  Something about taking a shower, putting on normal underwear rather than the mesh underwear they send you home from the hospital in (don't get me wrong, those things are a total God send), driving, and taking in my first sips of Starbucks espresso in nine months made me feel like a normal human again for a few minutes.  This week, Andrew watched Izzy again for a couple of hours while I went to dinner with my work team.  I know it's these small outings that are going to keep me on track.  I love being a mommy to our little girl, and I love the time I spend with her.  However, I also know I cannot forget about myself either.  I'm eternally grateful for a husband who understands and supports me in my effort to balance being a new mommy with still being me.

 Mommy's first outing post baby - still looking about three months 

pregnant, but I'm ok with that right now.

As for Isabelle, she has had a big couple of weeks.  She had her first few appointments with the doctor, her first trip to Target, watched her first Packers game (she might have slept through most of it), her first solo outing with mommy, and her first time out at a restaurant.  At her two week appointment, she was back up to her birth weight and was happy, healthy, and already growing like a weed.  I see changes in her even over these two short weeks.  She is awake more each day, and I love watching her face as she takes in the world around her.  As I hold her, I remind myself to cherish the quiet moments I get with her now.  I know in the blink of an eye she will outgrow my lap.      

She Has Arrived!

Well, it's a good thing I wrote our 38 week update last Monday night.  Little did I know when I went to bed that night, it was the last night I would be going to sleep pregnant.  After eating a fabulous dinner fixed by Andrew, and watching a few episodes of Law & Order, Andrew headed off to work and I headed off to bed.  I woke up around 1:15 AM to go to the bathroom only to stand up and have my water break.  I was completely caught off guard. Andrew had previously asked me what would happen if my water broke in bed.  I laughed at him and told him most women don't go into labor with their water breaking, so I wasn't going to worry about it.  Let's face it, I was more concerned about my water breaking in the middle of Target or while driving down the interstate.  After texting Andrew and letting him know he might want to let everyone at work know he wouldn't be coming in the next day, I called our midwives to let them know that my water had broken.  

At the time my water broke, I wasn't experiencing any contractions.  My midwives advised me to try and get some rest and let them know around 7:00 AM where I was at with my contractions.  I also let our doula know my water had broken, so she knew we were "on the clock".  Ideally, they like to have baby out no more than 24 hours after your water breaks due to the increased risk of infection.  As a funny aside, the midwife on call when my water broke was the one we had treated with for a majority of my pregnancy.  However, the other midwife, whom we had seen only twice during my entire pregnancy, was the one coming on call at 7:00 that morning and would be the one on call when I delivered.  Andrew and I joked previously that the midwife on call when I went into labor was going to be the one we hadn't treated with as much.  Luckily, we loved both midwives, so we would have been happy with either of them.

By 5:30, I woke up and my contractions had kicked in, but I tried to continue sleeping because I knew I was going to need as much sleep as I could get before the marathon I was about to run.  By 6:30 AM, I couldn't sleep through the contractions, so I got up. I also woke up to find my nausea had kicked in again, but I ate some breakfast and went down to work for a bit to set up my out of office messages.  At that point, it still hadn't sunk in that I was in labor.  Sure, I was having contractions and they weren't exactly comfortable, but my mind hadn't fully processed what was going on or that our baby girl would be in our arms within 24 hours.  Throughout the morning I had been in contact with our doula updating her on my progress.  By 8:00 AM my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart and lasting around 1 minute.  At 9:00 AM, I thought it was probably time for our doula to come over.  Around that time, I also had a call from the nurse at our midwives office.  We had our normal weekly appointment scheduled for 10:30 that morning, so they wanted us to come in so I could get checked to see where things were at.  Throughout our labor and delivery process, I was amazed by how awesome our midwife group was.  Normally, once the water breaks, we would have been told to go to the hospital right away, but we were encouraged to stay home.  It was also grea that I was able to go to the office to be checked rather than going to the hospital.  

Our doula followed us down to the office in case we were sent straight to the hospital after my appointment.  The car ride down to the clinic was less than enjoyable; contractions in a car are not my idea of a good time.  When I was checked at the clinic, I was about 3 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced.  I was sent home to labor further and advised to check back in with the midwives in the early afternoon.  While I was happy we weren't going to have to labor in the hospital all day, I wasn't thrilled to be getting back in the car.  We arrived back home around 11:30 AM.  I tried to eat some toast and peanut butter for lunch to keep my strength up, but was only able to get down one slice.  My nausea was really taking over at that point, thankfully our doula had peppermint oil on hand; that was the only thing that kept my nausea at bay throughout the day.  Andrew made sure I was drinking fluids after each contraction so I could stay hydrated.  Around 1:30 PM, we decided it might be time to head to the hospital; I guess our midwives thought so too because we had a call on our way down to the hospital to find out how things were going.  Once again, contractions while in a car are terrible.  The whole time we were on our way to the hospital, I kept thinking about our birthing class.  The teacher of the class talked about how most people say one of the things they hate the most about labor is riding in the car.  Thankfully, the ride was only about fifteen minutes.  We got parked and made our way up to the labor and delivery floor with a few stops on our way in for contractions.  I don't remember it sinking in, even at the point we were checking in to the hospital, that I was in labor and our little girl was on her way into the world.  Most of what I remember was operating on what felt like robot mode, trying to coach myself through each contraction and reminding myself to stay calm and breathe.  Luckily, Andrew was also there to remind me of those things.  I think I had myself so convinced I was going to go past my due date I didn't know what to think when it was clear our little lady had other ideas.

I'm not sure if our midwives had talked to the admitting desk prior to our arrival at the hospital, but we were able to bypass triage and go straight to our delivery room.  By the time we got settled into our room and they checked to see if I had progressed, I was seven centimeters dilated.  I couldn't believe I had progressed that much in a relatively short period of time.  While they did monitor her heartbeat from time to time, I wasn't continuously hooked up to machines for monitoring, so I was able to move around the room.  I remember the view from our room looked out over much of downtown, so I spent a lot of time looking out the window breathing through contractions.  They say during labor to find something to focus on; the downtown skyline became my focal point.

As you might recall from my prior posts, our plan going in to labor was for a completely un-medicated birth.  I didn't want so much as an IV in.  Because my strep B test was negative, I was able to get away with not having an IV.  We had a little push back from one of our nurses, but our midwife gave the ok for no IV (just another example of why I am eternally grateful for working with the midwives).  It felt great to have the freedom to move around as I wanted while working through the contractions.  I'm not going to lie, there were a couple of times I questioned my sanity about not wanting pain meds, and seriously thought about asking for some.  However, I reminded myself I had made it that far in the day without medications and my intent was to finish bringing our baby girl into the world without medications.  By 6:30 PM, I had reached 10 cm,  and had the overwhelming urge to push.  I had many people tell me my body would tell me when it was time to push, and they weren't joking.  At that point, it hurt not to push.  While I did all of my pushing in bed, I was able to push in several different positions, which I'm beyond grateful for.

Our birth team was amazing; there is no way I would have made it through without their help.  They held my legs when they felt like two ton bricks and I thought there was no possible way I could hold them up any longer.  They brought me ice and cold compresses when I felt like my body was on fire.  They held me up when it was time to push and my back felt like a knife was going through it.  And when I felt like giving up, they reminded me how far I had come and that our little girl was on her way into the world.  By 8:30, I was tired and wasn't sure I had the energy left to push through to the end.  I had to gather what energy I could and remind myself we were minutes away from meeting our baby girl. I think Andrew also used every last ounce of his energy to practically fold me in half so I could push with all the strength I had left.   Wednesday morning, we both felt like we had gone through a five hour workout; every muscle in my body burned.

Finally, on Tuesday, September 27th at 8:48 PM, we heard the beautiful cry of our baby girl.  She was 8 lbs. and 4 oz. of pure perfection. In that moment, I felt a love beyond description.  I finally understood when people told me about not knowing unconditional love until you hold your child in your arms for the first time.

 
As I reflect back on our pregnancy and the labor and delivery process, I cannot say enough good things about our midwives and our doula.  I know we couldn't have had the beautiful birth experience we had without their assistance.  The day our daughter was born was a whirlwind day, but I will always look back on it with gratitude for those who encouraged and allowed us to have the birth we set out to have.  
   

       

Pregnancy Update: Week 38

Week 38 was another busy one for us.  We had a lot to celebrate this past week, and more to look forward to in the coming weeks.  We started the week keeping our fingers crossed our little lady wouldn't make her entrance into the world just yet.  Andrew had to travel to the other side of the state for business.  Luckily, he made it there and back uneventfully!

Later in the week, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by going to see one of our favorite comedians; Lewis Black.  When we purchased the tickets earlier this summer, we were nervous about making it to the big day without interruption from our little one. As the day got closer, my nerves increased.  Luckily, we got to enjoy the show without interruption.  I'm glad we didn't forgo buying the tickets.  On Saturday, we extended our anniversary celebration by having dinner with family and enjoying our annual tradition of cake!  Rather than keeping to top tier of our wedding cake, we buy a small cake to enjoy each year.  This year we opted for a champagne cake, which was delicious.  

 
It's hard to believe it has been 5 years since our big day.  It's been five years full of adventure with our biggest one ahead of us.  Here are a few of my favorite memories from our first five years of marriage.

our first "baby", Buddy 

our first home

honeymooning in Boston 

1st anniversary trip to Green Bay 

bringing Maya home

moving day from our first to our second home

our second home

our first project - Maya helped dig the hole

our first major renovation project

4th anniversary trip to Chicago

sightseeing in Chicago 

 Orlando 

 Universal Studios in Orlando

our next big adventure! 

We went for our 38 week appointment with our midwives on Friday.  Unfortunately, all was not quite as well as I thought it would be.  I knew my feet and ankles had been swelling more and more, but I didn't invest a lot of energy in worrying about it.  When we went in on Friday, my blood pressure was up slightly and the scale showed that I was retaining quite a bit of fluid.  I was put on "bed rest" for the weekend with orders to keep my feet up and take it easy in hopes the swelling would go down.  We go back tomorrow to see if my blood pressure is back down and hopefully the scales are a little nicer.  I did keep my feet up most of the weekend, and the swelling in my feet and ankles are down; I forgot what my ankles actually looked like to be honest.  Unfortunately, if I am on my feet for more than about an hour, my feet swell up like giant water balloons.  Hopefully, everything checks out tomorrow at our appointment and we aren't talking about induction due to an spike in my blood pressure.  

In addition to celebrating our anniversary and trying to keep my feet up as much as possible, we also finished up a few of our last minute to-do items.  Including..... finishing the nursery!  I'm excited to say it's complete and ready for our little lady to make her arrival any day now.  

 To round out week 38, here is the bump photo for the week:

As we welcome week 39, we are more than ready to meet our little girl.  We have finished up our "to-do" list as much as possible.  This past weekend, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and also celebrated what we anticipate might be our final weekend before entering the life of parenthood.  We are excited, nervous, anxious, and slightly terrified (ok, this may be more me than Andrew).  Baby watch is officially in full swing.  

Pregnancy Update: Week 37

Today marks the start of week 38 of this pregnancy; the end is near!  At most, we have four weeks left before our little girl is here.  Week 37 started out like the last few weeks; swollen ankles, decreased appetite from a squished stomach, and not so restful sleep.  The end of the week was not quite so normal and threw us for a bit of a loop. 

Early Thursday morning, I woke up not feeling right.  I had horrible stomach cramps and for the next eight hours, I wasn't able to keep anything down.  On top of the upset stomach, I was having some pretty regular contractions.  I tried to get as much sleep as possible knowing we had an appointment with our midwives the next morning.  I still wasn't feeling too hot by the time we got to our appointment, and was not all that shocked when they told me I was severely dehydrated. I did get a little bit of good news at our appointment; my strep B test was negative.  With the news that I was dehydrated , I was strongly urged to go to the labor and delivery triage unit at the hospital for some fluids.  I was supposed to get two units of fluids and some zofran as well as have baby's heart rate monitored for a while.  Baby girl was not handling my dehydration very well; her heart rate was quite high and I was having contractions ten minutes apart pretty regularly.  After a couple units of fluids, I thought we might get discharged.  Unfortunately, I spiked a low grade fever which meant more fluids and some Tylenol.  

Unfortunately, baby's heart rate was still averaging in the 170's, which was higher than they wanted it to be so we were admitted for overnight monitoring.  Fortunately, once they told us we were going to be admitted, I was moved to a more comfortable room and got off the triage cart!  In the process of getting moved, my contractions picked back up to every two to five minutes.  Overnight, baby's heart rate finally calmed down into the 130's and 140's.  My contractions also stopped for the most part after more fluids and two more doses of zofran.  I can't say I got much sleep Thursday night, but I was glad to know baby girl was safe.  Our midwife came in to check on us at 8:00 Friday morning, and was pleased with where we were at.  We were finally discharged early Friday afternoon with instructions to go home, rest and take it easy over the weekend. 

Luckily, I had a little more energy Saturday morning and ventured out for a girls pedicure.  It was nice to have a little pampering after being stuck in the hospital for a day.  Unfortunately, by Saturday afternoon, Andrew wasn't feeling so hot.  Needless to say, we weren't the most productive over the weekend.  Our big adventure for the weekend was taking the dogs for their annual physicals yesterday afternoon.  After our little scare last week, I wished I had more energy over the weekend to finish up some of the last items on our to do list.  I had been convinced we were going to have at least a week past our due date before our little one arrived.  I can't say I'm as strongly convinced at this point that she is going to stay put that long.  Right now, we are crossing our fingers she waits until after Friday night to make her appearance in the world.  

Here is my week 37 bump picture: 

  

The countdown is on to see how many more bump photos we get before we can finally introduce our little one to the world.  We hope she sticks on the inside for a few more days.  On Saturday, we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!  Friday night, we have tickets to see one of our favorite comedians, Lewis Black.  We took a gamble when we bought the tickets, but wanted to give ourselves something to look forward to at the end of the month since we knew we would also be anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little girl.  As our annual tradition, we have a cake ordered to be picked up on Saturday.  This year we went with a champagne cake.  We have a bottle of champagne in our wine fridge from our wedding that we have been saving.  We said we would drink it on our 5th anniversary, but that's not exactly a possibility right now.  So, the compromise was a champagne cake!  Let's hope our little bundle doesn't think we are buying her birthday cake!  

Fingers crossed we both are feeling well this weekend and can finish up our last to-do items.  At this point, we only have a few things left.  Last night, we bought the ingredients to make a couple different kinds of trail mix for early labor and after delivery.  Our hospital bag is packed and ready to go, we have a freezer full of food, the nursery is almost ready to go, and I have officially hit the wall of "doneness" with this pregnancy thing.  I'm now walking around with a bowling ball between my legs; can't say I'm ready for four more weeks of this feeling.    

Pregnancy Update: 36 weeks

We just finished up week 36 of this pregnancy and have moved into week 37.  I had a sigh of relief on Monday when we rounded that corner knowing we have reached "full term".  Granted, it would be best if this little lady hung in there for a few more weeks.  For now, it seems like she is pretty content to be rolling around and sticking her rear straight out the top of my stomach.  During our midwife appointment, they were trying to measure my stomach and check the fundal height.  Little miss didn't make it easy for them to get an accurate measurement.  As soon as I laid back her little bum was sticking straight out, so it created a bit of an extra bump for them to measure over.  Needless to say, at 36 weeks and 3 days, I was measuring at 37 weeks.  

Week 36 was the all important group strep b test at our midwife appointment.  It was also the first time they checked to see if there was any progress toward labor and delivery.  No news yet on the test results, which I'm saying is a good thing.  Of course, they probably figure I will be back this week, so no point in calling to tell me something they can just tell me when they see me in a few days.  In good news, baby is very firmly head down and is right where she needs to be for a good delivery.  That's not to say she wont squirm around between now and delivery, but hopefully she at least keeps her head down.  All signs point in the right direction, now we just play the waiting game.  I told Andrew I feel like a ticking time bomb these days.  Throughout week 36 I noticed more braxton hicks, which haven't really been significant up until last week.  Early in the week, I felt them off and on throughout the day over the course of several days.  Work has become increasingly stressful as I try and get everything done before the big day arrives, and I have noticed I have more "contractions" as my stress level increases.  It's hard to work when your deadline is "unknown" and you feel like you might have to drop whatever it is you are doing at any given moment.  At least at this point, I know we have five more weeks at the absolute max.  Anything beyond that would be past the 42 weeks we are allowed to go without being induced.

During week 36, we had our final baby class, which was a breastfeeding class.  Breastfeeding is something I'm quite anxious about.  I really hope to be able to have good success with it.  Luckily, I know several mamas who have had great success and I will be looking to them for tips, tricks and encouragement.  We did pick up a few helpful pointers from the class, so I'm glad we attended.

And, for your entertainment, here is the growing bump from week 36

Just to compare over the the past several months:

week 31 to week 36 may not look like that much of a change, but it sure feels like it! 

And just the past few weeks: 

This past weekend was our big meal prep weekend.  We busted out 20+ meals on Saturday.  Needless to say, our freezer is now well stocked.  Between Andrew and I as well as my mother in law, we made a day of it and busted everything out.  It took us about nine hours from start to finish, but we had a good time doing it (maybe I speak only for myself on this one).  It is a huge relief knowing we have a stockpile in the freezer so we wont have to worry so much about food once our little lady arrives and makes things chaotic for a while.  I tried to put together a combination of casseroles and crock pot meals.  Some of the meals we made were: taco pasta bake,  southwestern chicken and rice, creamy chicken taquitos,breakfast burritos,  lasagna roll ups, baked ravioli, maple dijon chicken, beef and broccoli, potato soup, chunky beef chili, beef bean and cheese burritos, Tuscan chicken, and goulash.  I found all the recipes on pinterest.

all of our ingredients ready to go

Meal prep shot our Saturday, and when Sunday rolled around we didn't really have a ton of energy for projects.  Needless to say, the nursery still needs finishing touches.  I did manage to get our hospital bag put together, so we can now check that off the list.  There are a few last minute items we will need throw in, but all the important stuff is now in a bag.  The diaper bag, complete with a "coming home" outfit has been packed for a few weeks now.  The highlight of my Sunday was watching the Green Bay Packers season opener.  It was a total bonus that they won the game, and even better that the game was actually an interesting one to watch!  I'm beyond excited for the return of football season.  Cool temperatures have also started to roll in finally, and the trees are starting to change in our neighborhood.  I used to say spring was my favorite time of year with all the flowers blooming after a long winter.  However, the older I get, the more I tend to favor fall.

Going into week 37, we have our midwife appointment on Thursday this week.  We are also both pretty busy with work stuff as we try to wrap up things on our desks.  This weekend I'm looking forward to a last minute pedicure with a good friend who has been a huge help throughout my pregnancy.  She just had her first in May, so I have relied on her a ton for advice.  Sunday we take the dogs for their annual check up with the vet.  I know they are both SUPER thrilled... not!  We wanted to get this out of the way before baby arrived so I'm glad it looks like we are still on track to be able to make it to their appointment on Sunday.  I'm anxious for them to see how well Buddy is doing after all of his issues in the spring.  He has his final adjustment before baby arrive this coming Monday.  I really believe the periodic adjustments will help him from having another episode like he did this year.  We will likely go back one more time this year and continue going every three to four months moving forward.

Pregnancy Update: Week 35

Week 35 is officially behind us, which means we have rounded the corner into the final month of this pregnancy!  This week was pretty busy trying to get all of our tasks done that were due September 1st.  We might not have gotten them all done, but we are well on our way.

Last week we ordered a few remaining items off our Target registry.  They arrived throughout the week last week, which made the week go a little faster.  Our ottoman came in, which was the final furniture piece for the nursery.  I think we now have everything for the nursery, and just need to work on putting it all together.  I worked in the nursery a couple of times over the past week for an hour or so at a time before I have to take a break.  Third trimester exhaustion is no joke.  

Going into this long holiday weekend, we had good intentions. Saturday didn't start out the best.  I was about to start one of three loads of laundry containing baby things when we lost power.  We still aren't really sure what happened, but it ended up being out for about two hours.  We ran out to grab breakfast while the power was out since we weren't able to make anything at home.  When the power did come back on, I was able to get all three loads of laundry done.  Luckily, baby clothes don't take long to dry!  Folding all those clothes and linens on the other hand seemed to take forever!  Who knew folding such small clothes could take so long.  I don't think our baby girl should have any concerns about going naked!

Sunday it was time to put all these clothes away.  We currently have newborn and three month clothes in her dresser and larger sizes in bins in her closet.  We will see what size this little lady comes out wearing!  Sunday was also the day to clean up the nursery a bit more.  It isn't completely picked up and ready to go yet, but a lot of progress has been made.  All her clothes are washed and put away, the crib is ready to go, and her changing station is set up. 

Sunday I also put together our list of freezer meals we will be making next weekend.  Last weekend we scored some stock up deals when Target was having a 10% off your total transaction sale.  Yesterday and today they were running a deal for a $10 gift card when you spent $50 on groceries.  Since our big cooking weekend is only a week away, we decided to take advantage of the sale.  I'm not sure how much time we spent in Target last night, but by the end of the shopping trip I was never so ready to leave Target.  We rang through five different transactions, so we were able to get $50 in gift cards.  Thank goodness for Cartwheel as well, we were able to same some money especially on the expensive items like meat.

 

Our lists for cooking weekend next weekend!  Our kitchen is a bit of a disaster at the moment.  We have bags sitting around full of ingredients for next weekend, and frankly l didn't want to bother unpacking them.  I think we have a pretty good list of meals to make.  In total, these lists will give us about seventeen meals.  Hopefully we will be set for about a month after little miss comes along.  

As for week 35 symptoms, they remain about the same as the previous few weeks.  The exhaustion is probably the thing I notice increasing the most.  Being up walking around for a couple of hours at Target last night about did me in.  I have to make sure to keep my feet up whenever possible, or the ankle swelling becomes ridiculous.  I definitely wasn't prepared for the exhaustion that has come with the last part of this pregnancy.  I know, it isn't going to improve much after she is born either.   

Here is a look at the week 35 bump.  Don't mind the half asleep look.  This was taken about midnight.   

Looking ahead to week 36, my main goal for the final day of our extended holiday weekend is getting our hospital bag packed.  We have one final class to attend Tuesday night at the hospital.  We have a midwife appointment on Thursday this week; we should find out if there is any progress toward delivery.  Finally, this coming weekend we will be working on putting our freezer meals together.  Hopefully we can also officially call the nursery done and I can post some pictures.  Last but not least, Sunday is the first regular season Packers game, and that just makes me happy.  Football season is officially here!  

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture of my snuggle buddy.  Apparently Maya has decided my stomach makes a good pillow now.  She really has become my shadow these last few months.