Happy Birthday Dylan!

She is here!

Dylan Sue Hare

2:05pm 6/25/15

7lbs 4oz

20 inches

Birth story:

I was really nervous about this delivery as it was my 1st induction. We were scheduled for 2 days after her due date and I really thought she'd come on her own prior to that date. We were in l&d on her due date but that was because Griffin, Brooklyn and I had all caught either food poisioning or a stomach virus and I had to get pumped with 4 liters of fluid to rehydrate. Dylan was perfectly happy to hang on until she was evicted!

We checked in at 6am on the 25th not knowing if this would be a 19 hour labor like her sister's was or an 8 hour one like Griffin's. They started pitocin at 7:30am and broke my water at 8:30. Around noon I was 4-5 cm and the contractions were painful but not unbearable so I decided it was time to get the epi (I like to wait as long as possible- I HATE not being able to feel my legs!). It took 3 (!!!) tries for the anesthesiologist to get my epi going but she got it (well, mostly-I could still feel probably the worst part of labor which makes me think I could have foregone the epi and done ok) and I was glad she did. At about 1:50 I knew It was time and sure enough I was fully dilated. Dr. Micus arrived and I started pushing at 2pm, and 2 contractions later Dylan was here at 2:05pm!

She is louder, more awake, and a little feistier (she's already rolling onto her sides!) than her brother and sister which she'll probably need being the youngest. So far she doesn't seem to like the car as much as her siblings did but for the most part has been a pretty content little lady!

Welcome to the world sweet Dylan we are so glad you are here!

Baby #3 - 34 weeks

6-ish (If I were a betting gal I'd say 5) weeks left and boy am I feeling it! It probably doesn't help that I've gained 30 pounds this pregnancy.

Awkward bathroom belly selfie -yikes!

I don't know that God intended bodies to have 3 babies in 4 years, or at least not mine. I am amazed that the 19 Kids and Counting lady has not keeled over or randomly had a limb fall off...props to her. 

We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and everything was looking good- Dylan is growing right on track so we are glad for that. 

She seems to be the only one on track as we, on the other hand, are no where near on track in preparation for her arrival. I still need to move things from Griffin's room into Brooklyn's room and essentially need to unpack and wash the few items I have for Dylan. We currently don't own a single NB sized diaper, and at some point I should probably start a list of what to pack for the hospital and figure out what to do with the 2 kids I do have while I deliver my 3rd.

I'll be wrapping up work at the end of May and starting at least a 4 year stint as a SAHM which I am super excited about and at the same time, extremely scared/nervous about.

I'm nervous about staying home, nervous about having 3 little people dependent on me for everything, nervous if I'll have any post-partum anxiety with Dylan, nervous about the delivery, nervous about how the kids will adjust to a new sibling and nervous about how we will afford to live without me working. Really, I'm generating enough adrenaline and cortisol to give an entire city a heart attack.

The good news is we are all getting excited to meet Miss Dylan, wondering who she'll look like (based on past history my money is on Daniel), and how she will fit in to our family puzzle!  Now if we can just get organized (I'm sure I'll be saying that for the next 15 years).....

Baby #3 - 26 weeks

I feel awful! 26 weeks in, and I'm just now  documenting this pregnancy!

So the 1st trimester I think I was in denial/shock and now that we're nearing the end of the 2nd and I'm feeling kicks and punches I'm getting excited! We'd always wanted more than 2 but I didn't think any baby after Griffin would be coming from this body- I think I was too scared/worried. It appears God has his own plan and timing regardless of my stupid fears haha!

So far with this one I have gained 17 lbs (!!) and had started out eating much healthier than I did with Griffin (although that's not hard to do- I literally ate frostys every day.) however the last few weeks the sweets have been calling my name!! 

We had our 20 week scan and all looks well. Most of you already know but We found out we are having a girl! I had a feeling it was going to be a girl so it was exciting to find out this time! We've picked a name and will be calling this little one Dylan and her middle name will be Sue after Daniel's grandmother and mom!

We are still up in the air about who's sleeping where etc. but we at least had a success finding an infant carrier that will allow me to safely put 3 car seats across my Pilot!

Besides feeling like I've been pregnant forever (because technically I have been lately) this pregnancy has been good so far. A little more tired than the last 2 but not bad. I know there are still many weeks to go so praying it all continues to go smoothly!

Brooklyn, Griffin and Dylan at around 20-22ish weeks

Happy Birthday!

Brooklyn must be a good listener because she decided last Sunday night that she'd had enough in there. For those that would like, the following is her birth story because if I don't write it somewhere it will all become a blur. Proceed at your own risk ha ha!

I was told that few ladies' water actually breaks as the first sign of labor....mine did. I was almost asleep at 10:30 on Sunday night when my water broke. So I hopped in the shower and waited for the contractions to start. I tried to sleep but honestly, who could sleep I had a million things going through my head. I spent from 10:30 pm until 4:00 am showering, getting dressed, fixing my hair (cause I didn't want to look too terrible in Brooklyn's first photos), quadruple checking the hospital bag, watching Seinfeld episodes, timing contractions and e-mailing last minute information to my boss.

We checked into the hospital at 4:30 am. Monday morning. My contractions weren't bad at all and still only 10 min apart but my water had been broken for a while and it was ridiculously foggy that morning. I was only at 2 cm and 50% effaced so they decided to hook me up to pitocin around 7 am to try to progress things along. The pitocin worked at getting contractions going but at 1 pm I was still only at 3 cm and was 90% effaced.

The problem was that since my water had broken like 16 hours before I was leaking amniotic fluid and Brooklyn didn't have much to keep her afloat in there so she'd occasionally squish her cord causing her heart rate to drop, so they turned off the pitocin and to avoid a c-section they tried replacing my fluids....and it worked! I opted to get the epidural at that point (in case the fluid option didn't work I'd already be ready should they need to do a c-section) it was not near as bad as I had expected and my anesthesiologist was wonderful. They slowly turned on the pitocin again and around we figured since I had 7 more cm to go it be a while, but around 4:30 I told the nurse that I felt some pressure and sure enough I was ready to go, Dr. Lee arrived in the room at 5:00 ish and Brooklyn was here at 5:33 pm!

 She shares a birthday with her Grandad (my father-in-law). It was wonderful that not only were my parents (who are from Texas) able to be there but my husbands parents and sisters (plus one nephew) were able to hop a ride on the company plane to be there for Brooklyn's arrival as well!

meet  Brooklyn Elizabeth

7 pounds 2 ounces

20 inches long

1st bath- daddy did a great job!

Ride home from the hospital.

She fell asleep as soon as we put her in the car!

My whole world in one picture. I hit the hubby jackpot :)

She makes the best faces - we decided she was dreaming about roller coasters.

40 weeks: the waiting game

She's due tomorrow, and conveniently this is my Dr's weekend to be on call (although the other 3 OB's in the practice are really great I want my Dr to deliver my nugget) so I'm really hoping for a timely baby (but kind of knowing in the back of my mind that after the kind of kid I was there's no way I'd be lucky enough to start out with a timely baby!).

Everything (and everyone) is ready and waiting......

....all for this tiny person.

Brooklyn, I hope you know just how very much you are loved.


Here's a little mini belly progression over the past 40 weeks....

14 weeks

20 weeks

24 weeks

29 weeks

34 weeks

39 weeks

Here's to hoping I don't have to take a 41 week photo! Ha ha!

Almost finished

As in finished with the nursery, finished with the holidays, finished with being preggers, and finished with my job.

That's a lot of stuff to be finished with all at the same time!

I think I'm actually going to really miss being pregnant. Once I got over the getting fat part and the human growing in my belly part, it has been quite incredible to get to know this little girl and have her as a part of my every move and breath. I also feel like it's been a very easy pregnancy. So I am spending these last 24 days (give or take) really trying to remember and enjoy every squirm, kick, and hiccup session she has, as there's no guarantee that I'll ever get to experience this again.

We have been blessed to have so many wonderful people who have wanted to celebrate the coming of Miss Brooklyn. Some of the women from our church threw a shower for myself and another gal who's due a week after I am and also having a girl. I was humbled that there were women there who I really had only seen at church but never really met that came to celebrate our little nuggets. We are glad to have found a loving church who truly act as the Body of Christ.

With family and many friends being halfway across the country several of my mom's friends gathered at my parents house for a Skype shower. They all mailed gifts to our house in Oregon prior to the party and then they enjoyed food and drinks at my parents house in Texas and we logged on to Skype so we could visit and open gifts. My mom and Melissa, one of my friends here in OR, even schemed and had cookies and pizza delivered so I didn't miss out on the food part of the shower. :)

Mom posing with the TV (me!)

The wonderful folks at my office are even throwing a little soiree for Brooklyn and I later this week . I'm telling you we're going to have one spoiled little girl on our hands! *I'm sure my mother is reading this and grinning from ear to ear knowing that I'm about to get some serious payback for the years of brattiness I put her through.*

It's bittersweet as it's kind of a shower/retirement party. I know 30 is a bit early for retirement but I've paid my dues. Ha ha! Just kidding! But seriously, because both my job and Daniel's are very much 40 hour a week plus lots of after hours events, we decided that I won't be returning as the alumni director after the baby arrives. I'm pretty sure the last time I was completely unemployed was when I was 15, I have always had a job... or 3- even through college. We are lucky to be able to even have the option to have me work or not work as I know many new mommies don't get a choice and have to return to work whether they want to or not. After a few months with just us 2 all day long who knows, I may just see if I can't find somewhere I can work part time.  

Daniel's parents came to visit us last week, we did a lot of shopping and football watching. We always have so much fun when family visits! They of course came loaded with things for Brooklyn, because that's what grandparents do! The bag of goodies included among many adorable outfits, her first articles of OU gear. I was wondering when those would make an appearance as my mom had sent Baylor onesies and the "B is for Baylor" book I think the day we told them we were expecting. I see many Saturday outfit changes in the near future, and most likely a child who'll end up not attending either school as payback for the schizophrenic school loyalty. I can see next year's Christmas card... Daniel in an OU shirt, me in a Baylor shirt and Brooklyn in a onesie that says "Whichever school is cheaper or gives me more scholarship money" 

We finally are putting the last touches on the nursery. Clothes are washed and put away, diapers and wipes are ready and waiting, glider is in, hospital bag is packed, and I only have a few framed prints and such to put up over her dresser and we are ready.

So picture a collage of framed art above the dresser on that blank wall.

I ended up using more pink than I thought I would :)

The closet is filling up fast!

All we need now is a tiny human. Hmmm, that's funny to think just now that this past nine months we've been preparing for this little girl- fretting over fabrics and colors and brands of baby shampoo, meanwhile God's been working creating the most exquisite thing that will be in that nursery, forming every wrinkle, eyelash, and muscle just as it was meant to be. What an exciting thing to be a part of.

I think that's where I'll leave it for today, and maybe I should every day - in the Creator's perfect hands.

33 weeks and another nursery project

Less than 7 weeks to go (unless she's late or early)!

Here are some fun facts for ya:

Today I am 33 weeks & 4 days.

On the scale: So far I have managed to pile on 25 pounds over the past 33 weeks and am fearful that with the holidays upon us that number may jump drastically over the next 6 1/2 weeks. I have been lucky up til this point and don't have stretch marks....yet. I'm sure there's still plenty of time for those to appear.

Cravings: Lately anything that's bad for me, breads, mashed potatoes, but mostly sweets. You should see me in the bakery/bread section at the store. Daniel had to drag me away from the tables filled with cakes, pies, muffins, croissants, and coffeecakes. Apparently I was circling the tables with crazy eyes. (Which is why I'm fearful of spending my last weeks pregnant in the midst of the food over-indulgence season)

Symptoms: I think I've been really blessed in that this pregnancy hasn't seemed near as bad as what everyone warned me about when it comes to aches, pains, and sleeplessness. I don't take naps, no swollen ankles, I don't need 80 pillows to be comfortable, I'm not up every hour to pee at night, and until now have been able to do all the things I normally do and function at work and home at my regular pace. If the delivery is anything like the past 7 1/2 months have been, I could definitely do this again.

Things I miss: I'm sure this will make me sound like an alcoholic but....wine. I'm really missing being able to have a glass of wine with dinner.  And as of this last week, I miss being able to walk up a flight of stairs and not be winded, and being able to bend over and get up off the floor with ease.

Looking forward to: Finishing up Brooklyn's nursery (just a few more projects ;) surprise!), and getting to finally meet her!

As you know, I'm on a make everything yourself kick, maybe it's my version of nesting. This week's project is a set of clothes sizing rings for Brooklyn's closet. I already had the paper, paint and Modpodge, all I needed were the rings and sticker numbers! I bought wood "O's" from the craft store for $1 a piece and the stickers were only $1.50 so this project only cost $6.50 (yay for no sales tax in Oregon).

Pregnancy Brain

The pregnancy books say it's not a "real" symptom of being knocked up. They claim that there's no medical evidence that being pregnant makes you dumber. They say you are more forgetful most likely because you are always thinking about the baby. I am here, my friend, to tell you that's crap.

Pregnancy brain is real. It has to be, because if it isn't that just means I'm dumb- and I'm not ready to live with that diagnosis. See proof below.

In the last 5 months I have......

• pulled off the greatest parallel parking job in my life. Got out of the car and halfway to the office to realize I hadn't locked the car. When I couldn't find the keys to lock the car I had  just gotten out of, I suddenly realized they were still in the ignition.....and the car was still on.
• made homemade potato soup with a few extra potatoes I'd baked a few nights before. Went to taste test it to see if it was ready, thought it was missing something only to turn around and see the potatoes sitting on the cutting board. 
• Pulled up at the gas station (with the gas light on and gas meter thingy below the red line) only to discover I forgot my wallet. And in Oregon you don't pump your own gas, so I shared this nugget of shame with a nice college kid gas attendant who, rightfully, looked at me like I was a moron as I looked at him and said "full tank, regulllll....aaaaah crap, I forgot my money. Nevermind." and drove off.
• Completely spaced on a office meeting (I was 30 min late and just chatting it up in the admin. building across campus, when I'd figured out I was supposed to be in a meeting) luckily my boss didn't yell at me. 
• I have sat and made a detailed grocery list, then immediately driven to the grocery store, grabbed a cart and realized the list was still on the kitchen table. Twice.
• Washed the same load of laundry twice. You'd think opening the washer and seeing wet clothes would signal "these have been washed". But no.
• I have also put wet clothes from the washer into the dryer tossed in the dryer sheet, shut the door and come back an hour later only to find soaking wet clothes. (helps if you hit the start button).
• Driven home and left my purse in the office overnight. Took my keys and my phone and completely left the purse.

And that is sadly, just the tip of the iceberg. So don't let anyone tell you it isn't a real symptom, because I am living proof. :)

24 weeks!

I can't believe I'm already 24 weeks in! I feel pretty lucky as I haven't been super sick or tired which has been great since the next 5 weeks I'll be working like crazy preparing for the biggest 3 days of my year (aka a foreign dignitary's visit to campus followed by homecoming weekend- event planning frenzy is in full swing). If only Brooklyn will continue to be good to me until that's done then I'll be glad to take some aches and pains.  :)

I know- be careful what you wish for.

I can feel her kicking and punching in there and while I thought it'd be weird it's really kinda awesome. Ok, really awesome. Daniel can feel the kicks too now and asks every evening if she's moving- he doesn't want to miss an opportunity. So far no crazy cravings, just get hungry more often, and when I'm hungry, I'm HUNGRY!

I've been keeping weekly pics as the belly grows and gave in and posted the 24 week pic below so the fam and pals out of state can see the change. Here's me and Brooklyn ready to head to the 1st home game of the season (which we won!) this Saturday.
 

Below is my 13 week pic (ignore cheesy face) for a reference so you can see just how big she's gotten (well I hope it's mostly all baby- although I've had my fair share of milky way bars lately!)

Farewell.....

To my normal people clothes. :(

It is with much sadness that I must announce the temporary retirement of my pre-preggers wardrobe. The jeans have been in a box for a month now but the work slacks will be joining them tonight.

I still have full use of my selection of tanks and cardigans and several sweaters, for how long I'm not sure, but I will cherish them until they join their friends in the retirement bins growing in my closet.

As a first time mom, the one thing no one mentioned that you literally grow out of EVERYTHING. Shirts, pants, shoes (yes shoes!), bras you name it. And it seemed to happen overnight. It was like one day I woke up and absolutely no bottoms I owned fit and you can only do the belly band for so long before your body is like "Quit trying to pretend your still somewhat skinny, buy me some new pants fatty."

I'm wondering what I will use for a coat when it's cold and I'm 8 months preggo? I refuse to buy a pregnant lady coat, that's ridic.

I will say however, now that I can actually feel little miss Hare be-bopping, dancing, practicing her mad ninja skills, whatever she's doing,  in my belly - I don't mind the whole getting fatter nearly as much- until I go to the pregnant lady section of target and try on a dress and realize that I'm not one of those cute pregnant ladies.

C 'est la vie.

Need it or leave it?

Today's post is a request to you mommies out there. The interweb (as well as many retailers and baby sites full of ads) has an alarming list of baby "must haves". Apparently my kid won't survive without at least $100,000 worth of bouncers, bumbos, butt wipes, binkys and bottles. So I'd like to take a survey of sorts and all I want to know is this......

If you were to be a first time mom knowing what you now know, what are 3 things you would call "must haves" and 3 things that were a waste of money/ never used?

I know everyone has different reasons and preferences but wanted to see what pops on the lists the most. Ready......

Set.......

Go........

It's a .......

Human!!

Ha ha! Just kidding! Well no- I'm not kidding about the human part, I was kidding about not letting you know what we are having part.

Ok.

Bad idea.

Looks like we will be having a little GIRL!!! She is healthy and already a bit of a pill (like her mom!) and wouldn't let the us tech get a good shot of her face for us!

Now to figure out what to name her! We're debating on whether to tell once we decide for fear of the opinion monster. Not that we are planning on going too crazy. I mean Luckycharm Birdfeeder Hare sounds really cool, right?

Ok, so we're not that out there, but the secrecy, if we choose to keep the name under wraps, is really more because I want us to pick a name that we like, that means something to us as a family. While every friend or family member or acquaintance has good intentions, they also each have an opinion all of which are totally different. You mention 1 name and inevitably someone at the table is like "Kevin?!? You're thinking about Kevin?? I knew a Kevin when I was 8 and he bit me. Kevin's are jerks."

Finally the shopping begins! Will someone ask my husband where he hid my wallet? ;)

Boy or Girl....the results!

As I mentioned in this post, I would follow up with baby old wives tale results so without further adieu.......


1.) High or Low
If you are carrying high with a big, round belly = Girl.  If you are carrying low with a smaller belly that sticks straight out = Boy.

This one is difficult, since it's my 1st baby I'm not really showing enough to determine high or low, but for the sake of the game I'd say my belly isn't really the stick straight out belly is more of spread out jolly belly ha ha! So test #1 = GIRL


2.)Heart rate
140 bpm or higher = Girl / Under 140 = Boy

Ha ha! Again with our ambiguous child! We have gotten heart rates in the upper 120's to low 150's  at the Dr's appointments and on our home Doppler but I'd say that it's most often in the 135-142 range so I'm going with BOY on this one.

3.) Acne
If you breakout = Girl  /No crazy breakouts = Boy

If you know me you know I have always had breakouts - my skin is the bain of my existence. I didn't think breakouts could be worse that the ones I already get at ahem, age 30. Turns out they can and they did. I have been a face washing machine the past 4 months! This round = GIRL.

4.)Sweet & Sour
If you crave mostly sweets = Girl / Salty & sour foods = Boy.

This one's easy! I crave mostly plain ol' carbs (plain boring bread, cereal, pasta, rice) and sweets. Especially fruit, Popsicles, and anything with chocolate in it.  GIRL

5.) Chinese Gender Predictor
there are 2 different calculators so I'll try both. But it basically takes your age at conception and the month of conception and tells you if it's a boy or girl.

The 1st one is from the parents.com site this one came back GIRL.
The 2nd one, found here, is really technical and uses your "lunar age" (whatever that is) this chart said BOY. So test number 5 essentially negates itself from the experiment!

6.) Mayan Predictor
Mothers age at conception and the year of conception. If both #'s are even or both #'s are odd =Girl / If one # is even and the other is odd = boy.

I was 29 and the year is 2011 both odd so this one goes to GIRL

7.)Drano
You pee in a cup (disposable of course!) add 1 tablespoon of Drano - Green = Girl / Blue = Boy

Uhhhh. I've officially secured my place in the looney bin with these next 2 experiments. So I'm thinking Drano has changed since this Old Wives Tale began. The Drano was a clear gel so it didn't do anything. At all. Boo. I was also paranoid of some weird chemical reaction so I was outside with two plastic cups each with tiny amounts to mix. Ha ha!

Survey says = TEST FAIL. 

8.) Baking soda
Again with the peeing in a cup! This time add 1 teaspoon of fresh baking soda fizzes= Boy / no fizz = Girl/

Yep. I did it. And I am somewhat embarrassed to admit it. Disposable spoon, cup and gloves! However this test said BOY

9.) Wedding Ring
Tie your wedding ring to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle = Girl / If it goes back and forth =Boy.

I did this one three times because I was sure it wouldn't do the same thing three times, but each time it went in little circles! It kind of creeped me out. Round 9 = GIRL

10.) Morning Sickness
Morning sickness/queasiness = Girl.  No or little morning sickness/ queasiness = Boy.

I've had all day queasiness starting around week 7 til week 13 since then it's been only hit me for a few hours once or twice a week. Round 10 goes to GIRL

11.) Eye test
This is wacky but, the eye test is when a “V” or “branches” appear when you pull down the skin under your left eye.  If you see a “V” or “branches” in the white part, you’re having a girl.

I did this test 3 times over 2 days. I was convinced that this would be different based on morning/ night whether you were tired etc. So I check about an hour after I'd been up in the morning, before I went to bed and the following day around lunchtime. no "V" = BOY

12.) Sleeping Sides
If you lay on your left side = Boy.  If you prefer resting on your right side = Girl

I'm a side sleeper by nature but can't fall asleep unless I'm on my left side so this round has been won by the BOY

13.) Cold Feet
Are your feet colder now that you are pregnant?  If so = Boy.  If your feet have stayed the same before pregnancy and during = Girl. 

My feet have always been cold and haven't gotten colder or warmer since getting preggo so this one = GIRL 

So with 11 tests  (Test #5 negated itself and the Drano test = fail! )For a grand total of.....

Girl -7  (63.6%)
Boy - 4 (36.4%)

The girl odds win by a nose! Geez- all that work and I'm no better off than where I started really! (As if we thought these Old Wives Tales were actually true. Ha ha!). It was fun to pass the time though.

For what it's worth I think it's a boy, Daniel thinks girl.

I suppose you'll have to check back tomorrow when we leave the gender predicting up to the sonographer and hopefully the kiddo won't have it's first camera shy moment!

Until tomorrow.....

Why can't the stork drop off the baby?

Yesterday we had our evening all planned out. You see, the 2nd Wednesday of every month our hospital hosts a "Come check us out" information session and tour of the L&D wing. Seeing as my due date is Jan 7th we really only had 5 chances to go and with fall sports approaching for Daniel and homecoming planning for me, I figured if we didn't go this month we wouldn't go at all.

I assumed it'd be a quick tour where they show you around the L&D to familiarize you with the place and share some tips etc. Easy Peasy. I was not prepared for what we I experienced.

First of all, of the 6 preggo women and their spouses/ kiddos who were there I was the only one who wasn't about to give birth at any moment, in fact, I don't really have a "bump" yet, so I got the stink eye a few times. Secondly, every lady in there had a toddler in tow or mentioned their little one was at a sitter, I was the only 1st timer there (oh and should I even bother to remind you of my gargantuan fear of hospitals?).

The L&D nurse started the session with information. Lots of information. Like, I should have brought a court reporter information.
L&D nurse :"Who's pre-admitted?" me whispering to Daniel: "What's pre-admitted"
L&D : "How many of you have selected your pediatrician?"  me: "uuuummmmm"
L&D : "Who has a birth plan?"  me: "Try not to die or pass out. Does that count?"

Then she starts in on security. While I think it's pretty awesome, getting in to this L&D wing is like trying to get into Fort Knox. Strict visiting hours, only certain elevators go to that floor, no walking babies in hallways, something about only 3 purple bracelets, every visitor having to check in, I could go on.

That part while overwhelming, was the easy part, we were in a little conference room. The next part is where it got dicey. She takes us all up to L&D and we begin to tour the floor - L&D rooms, recovery rooms, nursery.

When I go to a hospital to visit someone I'm never standing up for more than 3 minutes.

Front door to elevator to room.

Sit.

I can feel queasy and sit. I'm a professional at that. That's how I cope with my "hospitals make me pass out" problem. You are less likely to pass out while seated than standing. This tour was 30 minutes of standing and walking in a hospital, while discussing things like c-sections, weird machines, what happens if something's wrong with baby, and needles. It didn't help that the crazy lady with 2 doulas and a midwife who also wanted her entire extended family in the room for delivery was asking questions about everything and asking the nurse to pull out every machine the hospital has, and questioning every hospital policy.

First stop, L&D room- I was queasy, second stop recovery room- I was queasy and a little dizzy, by the time we got to the nursery and they were discussing what happens if your infant has to be care flighted, I literally had to sit on the floor and fan myself while thinking about shopping, purses and tropical beaches to keep from passing out. 

Ten minutes later as the tour ended and we were walking to the car, my face regaining color as I breathe in the fresh non-hospital air, Daniel turns to me and says "Now how do you plan on doing this in 5 months?" My answer was "In 5 months, there will be no walking, no 20 questions lady, and will be in too much pain to care."

Glad my husband loves me and my neurosis.

Growing Pains....

I said goodbye to my jeans a few weeks ago (week 16). They fit fine in the legs but it was getting ridiculous to button them. My mom took me to get a pair of stretchy maternity jeans. Why all jeans don't come with an elastic waistband is still a wonder to me. They are comfy! I have to pull them up every 5 minutes since my belly isn't big enough to hold them up on their own yet, but it beats trying to wear the bella band over my jeans and looking like I have 2 misplaced outie bellybuttons.

credit

My work pants (the Editor pant from Express is the only dress pant I wear - I have 9 pair in an array of blacks, browns, greys etc) have been much kinder to me! I have been able to wear them no problem....until today. (18 weeks) I can still button them but am realizing that sitting at a desk in them squishing my tummy isn't the most comfortable. Luckily I'll be able to wear the bella band with these and am hoping to buy myself at least 3-4 more weeks before I have to suck it up and hit the maternity store. Eek!

I'm holding out as long as possible,mostly because it's still summer and I'll be my biggest during the rainy and cold fall and winter here in Oregon so I'd rather spend my hard earned dollars on items that I'm going to wear more often (and am hoping my leggings will provide lots of free leg wear for fall and winter- anyone got a heads up on this years fall trends? *fingers crossed*). I also have issues with buying things that I may not ever wear again. What if we don't have another kiddo or what if it's a summer baby. And maybe I'm holding out because although I love the reason that I am getting bigger , I am still really, really self conscious about my body.

At least I've still got purses and jewelry I can shop my regular spots for!   

Birthdays + registry = anxiety attack

So my birthday is less that a month away and I have learned an interesting fact.

When you are pregnant and your birthday falls during your pregnancy, people tend to want to purchase you maternity clothes or things for the baby. Family, friends, spouses all flip to baby mode.

Now don't get me wrong, while I appreciate the gesture as baby items and preggo clothes are both things that I'll need, it's not exactly what I had in mind as a birthday present. Buying clothes with giant stretchy waistbands doesn't exactly make a gal (one who's turning 30, mind you) feel like she's having birthday fun if you know what I mean. And buying the baby things doesn't count as a birthday gift either. That's like me showing up at your birthday party with a gift for your husband, but I let you unwrap it. Enjoy that circular saw, Susan.

This little nugget will get more than it needs and then some I'm sure, thanks to it's wonderful grandparents (both sets enjoy shopping for their grandchildren like the world is ending tomorrow) and shopaholic mom (guilty!). And I will brave the strap on foam  pregnant belly in the fitting rooms at Motherhood after I get brave enough to throw my scale out the bathroom window. I've learned that just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean my self consciousness about my body just flew out the window.

So, for those of you about to shop for a pregnant lady's birthday - remember the rest of the woman's life will revolve around the kid she's carrying so try to keep her birthday just that. Hers. :)

Also, on a totally unrelated note, I logged on to the  Toys r' Us website thinking I was going to attempt to slowly start a registry - really more as a checklist for what we need to get, and 20 minutes later shut the laptop freaked out and overwhelmed. I thought "Oh I'll just put diapers, cream, pacifier, baby wipes a few small things on there and then tackle feeding supplies, bath stuff etc. each on a different day so I'm not overwhelmed." Wrong!

It's like a wedding registry on steroids! Except with a wedding registry you may have 200 brands and styles of dinner plates to choose from but you simply choose the prettiest one. Easy enough. On the website I started with what I figured was the easiest, diapers.

Bad idea.

Disposable or cloth? Different brands, different sizes, different age groups different weight ranges. How do I know which one is the best? What if I get 1 million newborn diapers and I have a 12 pound baby? (Which sadly is somewhat possible since my hubby was a 10 pounder - Lord, have mercy on me!) See with baby stuff you throw how it looks out the window and question #1 becomes how safe is it/ which is the best one? The answer to that, my friends, is I have no friggin' clue! So I shut the computer after blankly staring at the 500+ different kinds of diapers and turned on the food network. :)

So far my kid will be naked. :)

Boy or Girl?

We are planning to find out the sex of the baby. Partially so that I can start calling it "him" or "her" instead of "it" or "nugget", but mostly because I am a planner, a list maker, and need as much time as to prepare myself for broken bones from football games, frogs in the house, or princess temper tantrums, and ballet recitals.

Ok, and maybe a little bit because I have a small addiction to shopping.

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We won't get to find out the sex until mid August, but I've googled a bunch of the old wives gender predictors. I was telling one of my friends about all of the one million different (and some crazy) ones and she thought it'd be neat if I listed them, tried them, and blogged about them the month leading up to the appointment, then we'll see how accurate these suckers are after the appointment! You can all thank Lisa for the madness that is about to ensue.

And so here goes the "Old Wives Gender Predictor Experiment". I'll start by listing all the Old Wives Tales that I have found around the interwebs and give you the results in the next post!

1.) High or Low
If you are carrying high with a big, round belly = Girl.  If you are carrying low with a smaller belly that sticks straight out = Boy.

2.)Heart rate
140bpm or higher = Girl / Under 140 = Boy

3.) Acne
If you breakout = Girl  /No crazy breakouts = Boy

4.)Sweet & Sour
If you crave mostly sweets = Girl / Salty & sour foods = Boy

5.) Chinese Gender Predictor
there are 2 different calculators so I'll try both. But it basically takes your age at conception and the month of conception and tells you if it's a boy or girl.

6.) Myan Predictor
Mothers age at conception and the year of conception. If both #'s are even or both #'s are odd =Girl / If one # is even and the other is odd = boy.

7.)Drano
You pee in a cup (disposable of course!) add 1 tablespoon of Drano - Green = Girl / Blue = Boy

8.) Baking soda
Again with the peeing in a cup! This time add 1 teaspoon of fresh baking soda fizzes= Boy / no fizz = Girl/

9.) Wedding Ring
Tie your wedding ring to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle = Boy / If it goes back and forth = Girl.

10.) Morning Sickness
Morning sickness/queasiness = Girl.  No or little morning sickness/ queasiness = Boy.

11.) Eye test
This is wacky but, the eye test is when a “V” or “branches” appear when you pull down the skin under your left eye.  If you see a “V” or “branches” in the white part, you’re having a girl.

12.) Sleeping Sides
If you lay on your left side = Boy.  If you prefer resting on your right side = Girl

13.) Cold Feet
Are your feet colder now that you are pregnant?  If so = Boy.  If your feet have stayed the same before pregnancy and during = Girl. 

Are there any that I've missed? Let me know and I'll add them to the list to try. (after I google it to make sure you didn't just send me running around my yard in my underpants holding a tambourine just for giggles!)

Have a great weekend!