Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Pregnancy update

The end of this pregnancy is fast approaching and we have had some eventful past couple days.  Let's start with Sunday.  Sunday I had to pick Madison up from a weekend at her dad's.  We met half way (an hour and a half....one way).  On the way home I noticed that my wedding ring was really tight on my finger.  When I looked at them, they looked like fat little sausage links.  This was a first.  I didn't think much of it past that.  Once I got home, I needed a nap.  Something that has become a normal routine since I only get a couple of hours of good sleep a night.  I woke up to my finger throbbing in pain.  Fantastic!!  The first thought was ice.  I iced it with a couple ice cubes....nothing.  So I tried some soap....nothing.  So I went to the trusty 'ole Google.  There a site recommended soaking my hand in ice water for 20 minutes, keeping my hand above my heart for 15 minutes and then icing it again for 10 minutes.  Tried that....nothing.  Then I saw an interesting one; Windex.  Tried it....nothing.  But it was the closest.  My finger was so swollen and red at this point I figured I should let it rest because all of the tugging was only making it worse.  To keep my mind off of my finger Casey and I played a game of Scrabble; which I won.  :)  When we were done I had to use the bathroom.....imagine that.  That's when I noticed that my feet had doubled, if not tripled in size and were completely numb.  Now I was freaking out.  Preclampsia immediately went through my mind and another Google search began.  The only way to know for sure was to check my blood pressure.  Casey was about to run to the store to buy a cheap cuff but then recommended that I call his Aunt Kim first.  And so I did.  After a conversation with her we called my doctor.  At this point I was so worried and stressed that I think the message I left for the doctor on call was more of a sobbing, shaking voice mess than anything else.  He called back a few short minutes later and ensured me that the swelling was due to all the driving I did that day (mark that off the list of things I do again) but if I felt more comfortable going to the hospital to get my blood pressure checked then I should go ahead and do that.  I felt much better after talking with him, but not 100%, so I decided that I would run to WalMart and use their blood pressure machine to check myself out.  Of course knowing I was so upset, everyone else went with me.  So at 9:30 at night we all made a nightly trip to Wally World.  My blood pressure was fine, but my nerves were still on edge.  At least now I had some peace of mind and I could possible get some sleep.....yeah right!

I woke up the next morning exhausted from the lack of sleep that night and still swollen.  Luckily I had a doctor's appointment that morning.  I had also convinced myself that I was going to convince my doctor to induce me that day.  I had had enough between the lack of sleep, the increase of pain and the swelling scare.  I was close enough....surely!  At the doctor's I was still swollen, but my blood pressure was good. (I had secretly hoped it would be high so I could convince her to induce me.)  While talking to my doctor she said that I wasn't dilated AT ALL!  NOTHING!!!!  NOT EVEN CLOSE!!  She said that based on my first appointment my due date was June 30, but the ultra sound showed a due date of July 4.  She said paperwork wise, they go off of the June 30 date...so I was 3 days away from my due date and not dilated at all.  She said at this point if I did want to be induced I would have to go to the hospital 12 hours before so they could give me some medication that would thin out my cervix and then after that they would give me some medication to start the labor.  That sounded worse that just getting induced.  I quickly changed my mind on wanting to get induced.  So at this point I have appointments twice a week to keep an eye on everything and to see how I progress.  I had a BPP that day as well, which is an ultra sound, but they only check to see if the baby is head down, her vitals are good and there's enough fluid still in there for her.  Everything checked out perfectly fine!  Now we just have to cross our fingers and see how things go from here.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Weekend Update


things that made the weekend great
  • the arrival of Bryson Warthan; congrats Troy and Katie
  • having a victory over the nursery light fixture
  • figuring out where I want to hang some artwork in the nursery
  • super yummy dinner (date night) with the hubby
  • beating the hubby at Scrabble Sunday night; he's such a sore loser  ;)

things that made the weekend not so great
  •  Madison gone for the weekend
  • driving to drop her off and the other party being 45 minutes late
  • running into a wreck on the way home...stand still traffic....yuck!
  • having a fight with the nursery light fixture (a 2 hour process)
  • my feet and hand swelling up Sunday night....VERY scary

Monday, June 20, 2011

Weekend Update


things that made the weekend great
  • spending time with the Seattle kin
  • celebrating Hilary and John's wedding; congrats guys
  • having some amazing weather this weekend
  • having a slumber party at a B&B Friday night
  • having yummy Mexican for lunch on Sunday with my daddy
  • getting to see Madison after a week at church camp
  • celebrating father's day with an awesome daddy; Casey

things that made the weekend not so great
  •  being slightly embarrassed by Casey's actions Friday night, even though part of the time he was being pretty hilarious
  • having my ankles swell up 3X their normal size Saturday night
  • being incredibly sore after the wedding
  • sleeping horribly Saturday night because my pelvic bone

Monday, June 13, 2011

Weekend Update


 things that made the weekend great
  • spending a few hours at the pool
  • getting a nice tan
  • getting a few last minute items for the nursery and them being on sale
  • cooking a perfect pork tenderloin on Sunday....it was pure perfection
  • not having to deal with our entire yard being dug up because of plumbing issues
  • helping Madison pack for her week at church camp

things that made the weekend not so great
  •  having major plumbing issues
  • the ribs being way over cooked on Saturday night because someone forgot to keep an eye on them due to a video game addiction (we had hot dogs instead)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

More Nursery Sneak Peaks




The crib bedding is all put together and Hop, the stuffed bunny is anxiously waiting for Layla.

Monday, June 6, 2011

What. A. Weekend.


 things that made the weekend great
  • date night with the hubby
  • purchasing the light fixture for the nursery
  • lots of cleaning going on in the household
  • playing some silly racing game as a family (Madison's treat for her report card)
  • a major grocery shopping trip completed
  • signing Madison up for Volleyball this summer

things that made the weekend not so great
  •  not getting to go the the restaurant I wanted for our date night
  • the trip to Ikea taking 3 hours (normally an hour and half....I think I cursed every construction worker I passed)
  • Casey's Honey-Do list not even close to being completed
  • having some issues with the nursery light fixture
  • my feet and ankles got so swollen Sunday night 
  • feeling like a giant whale all the time now

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Nesting Has Begun


Yesterday the nesting stage of my pregnancy went into full gear!  I was genuinely surprised at the amount of energy I suddenly had and how everything needed to get done, and it needed to get done now!  Now that I look back at it, the day before I started showing symptoms.  I had a doctor's appointment and afterwards I picked up curtains for the baby's room, a diaper bag and some essentials for it, and the crib skirt and sheet that goes with the bedding.  I originally wasn't going to purchase them, but that particular day got the best of me.

Yesterday started like a normal one for me.  I woke up, got Madison ready for school and on the bus, checked my email, misc. blogs I follow and facebook.  Then I started in with work.  In between all of the work, I decided to throw a load of laundry in.  This simple task has been haunting me for weeks.  I had completely pushed the task to the side and, unfortunately, Madison and I were beginning to suffer from it.  From that one load of laundry, it was all over!  Here's a summary of how the day went:

  • Fix the dishwasher.  For MONTHS now, our dishwasher has been progressively been getting louder and louder.  It's getting to the point that it interferes with the TV and if it interferes with that, then it will probably wake a sleeping baby.  So I went to the handy dandy internet and did some research.  Most of what I read said to take the spinner and drain out of the bottom and look for any objects that may have gotten lodge in there.  If that wasn't the problem, then it was probably one of the motors (who knew a dishwasher had 2 motors)???  So, I took the spinner and drain out and Holy-Lime-Build-Up-Nastiness!!  YUCK!!!!  I honestly had NO idea that you were suppose to check that type of thing and clean it out.  It's a dishwasher....soap and water....you would think it would clean it's self.  Obviously NOT!  After I cleaned all the parts, I looked to see if there was any foreign objects that had lodged their selves in there.  And yep...2 pieces.  One was a small clear plastic bit that had broken off something, still not sure what it was from.  And the other was a Frigidaire plastic decorative piece that had once been fastened to the top rack.  After everything was assembled back together I ran a load of dishes, and not much of a difference.  Well, the first cycle there wasn't much change, the cycles after that were noticeable quieter.  I'm hoping that it was a fluke that the first cycle was still loud.  I'll do another load today and see what the verdict comes out to be.  If it's still loud, guess I'll be calling someone out here to check on it.
  • Strip all the bedding and wash them.  (This is something I do at the beginning of every month.)
  • Go through all the baby shower items from this past weekend.  I had already washed the items that needed to be washed, but I still had items that needed to be put away; baby wash, baby lotion, bottle brush, boppy, etc.
  • Pack the diaper bag.  I went through the items I had purchased the day before and took them out of their packages and into the diaper bag.  Added some diapers, lotion, hand sanitizer, tissues, an outfit, blanket, etc.  Then I thought, I need a backup for the van too.  So, I took out a changing pad/ kit that my cousin had given me and filled it with wipes and diapers to put in the van for an emergency.  Then I though, I need a small first aid kit in there too.  (I'm still working on it.)  See....I'm going through the total nesting-phase.
  • Work.  Yes, I got work done yesterday too.  All-in-all, I actually finished up 2 BIG projects.
  • Clean the washing machine.  Again, I had NO idea you were suppose to wash a washing machine.  My friends and I joke all the time that they need to have a class on these types of things.  One of our friends went 2 years without changing an air filter.  I don't understand why no one tells you these things as a new home owner.  Back to the washing machine.  So I was wiping down the outside and wiping out the spinner where our fabric softner goes when I noticed something black on the spinner.  I started wiping it and then my finger went in....it was a small hole with dirt in it.  So I got a nail to try and scrap out the dirt, which was really soft....then fabric softner started poring out.  What the...???  Then I noticed that you could take the top piece of the spinner off and WHOA!!!  I don't think the owners before us knew you were suppose to clean a washing machine either!!  The inside was caked with build up fabric softner....that had turned black!  Yes, black!!  UBER gross!!!  After I cleaned it out I filled it with hot water and a gallon of white vinegar and let the machine do a cycle.  Apparently white vinegar is the new "green" way to clean items.  (In case you were wondering).  That and you don't have to worry about clothes getting bleached after you wash the machine.
  • Run to the store for more cleaning supplies and items for Casey's Honey-Do List.  We have a local hardware store not too far from our house.  It's really convenient to have, especially since Lowe's is on the other side of town.  There I got some culk for our bath tub (this has needed done for at least 3 years and someone, who shall remain nameless, still hasn't done it), ant poison for the little black ants that have decided to come visit (Casey keeps buying the wrong kind), and a replacement plate for our deadbolt on the front door (needed done for 2 years now).  The deadbolt works fine, but it's something that needed to be fixed.  Then I ran to our new Marketplace Kroger....greatest place ever...to get the cleaning supplies I needed, then back home again.
  • More laundry.  I believe by the day's end I had done a total of 6 loads of laundry (and there's still more).  Told you I was slacking on this chore.
  • Hung the new curtain rod and curtains.  This actually was a little bigger pain in the butt than what I thought it was going to be.  But they are hung and look lovely if I might add.
  • Made the baby's bed.  The skirt is on, the sheet is on, the bumper is tied to the crib, Hop (a little stuffed bunny that is too cute fore words) is sitting in the corner waiting for Layla and the quilt is draped neatly over the crib.  All we need now is a baby.
Soon after that Madison came home and I helped her with a MAJOR cleaning of her bedroom.  Soon time caught up with us and it was time to get her ready for her softball game.  We grabbed some sandwiches on the way to the game and watched another unbearable loss.  On a positive note, Madison's been playing 2nd base the past couple games, is 2nd in the batting line up and she was the only one to score last night.

But today, it's back to the nesting grind.  It's not as sever as yesterday, but Madison and Casey now have a growing list of to-do items for this weekend while I run errands.  Might as well let the whole family in on my nesting fun!   Hahahaha!!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Nursery Update....The Closet Edition

I'm like every other woman: a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear.  -Cameron Diaz

I believe that I have all the clothes washed in anticipation of Layla.  And there was a lot of them!  All of the clothes are hung/ folded and organized, sheets and blankets folded and the towels and wash clothes are ready to go.

Tada.....the closet in all it's glory!  Notice the stock pile of diapers and wipes we have on the top shelf.


The top rack is nothing but 0-3 months.....almost enough clothes for her to wear one outfit a day.


The second shelf has three tubs.  The one on the far right is full (to the brim) of socks and shoes.  The middle one has bloomers and knit pants.  And the tub on the left is full of hats and uber cute headbands.


The bottom shelf contains the 3-6 month clothes.  The rest of the clothes (6 months and up) are in tubs in the garage.  We only have so much room.  Oh, and as far as her nightgowns and onesies, they are in the changing table drawers.  But we'll save that for another day.