0 False labor- oh how you tease

On Friday the 22nd (Good Friday) we had a very busy day planned with too much going on to think about. Both Mark and I were scheduled to work - so much for holidays - but we didnt mind the light traffic in the morning. We had a photo shoot scheduled for Big Brothers, Big Sisters at lunch, so Mark planned to take the day off after the shoot and hang out with Travon our little. The morning was spent rushing through millions of emails and projects and once noon hit and we headed for the shoot the entire day changed.
We had our shoot, grabbed a burger at 915 Pub and Grill (said to have one of the best burgers in Cincinnati which I would agree was good) and I went back to work. On Thursday, Mark got a flat tire at lunch and luckily the tire store up the street from my office was able to fix it on Friday while we were at work and running around. Mark dropped me off and went to check on the progress of his car. Knowing I could walk to get my car, we figured this would be the best way to handle the afternoon. I am not really sure why I was feeling bad, however, I had a feeling adding jalapenos to my burger was probably the reason I felt like I could throw up all afternoon. Fail on my part, but I would live. The day would go on.
About 4pm I decided I had enough of the day. We were scheduled for a bowling party with my co-workers at 6pm and Mark and I both needed to run some errands. I figured that it would be a great time to get everything done at once and be close to the event so we went on our way. Travon wasn't bowling with us that night - we needed a break alone that night and thank the Lord we made that decision. Our first stop was to pick up lamps and pictures at Home Goods. As soon as I went to pull the car around it started monsooning - NO joke. I was soaked- feet, pants and everything. I looked like a drowned rat, but at that point it wasnt worth running. I was going to make more of a mess that way. Mark was super frustrated at me for not letting him get the car, but I am stubborn and think I can do everything right so he shouldnt have been surprised.
After settling down in the car, I started having cramping in my stomach. I figured it was from the hustle to the car. No big deal. The heartburn was getting worse, but I figured again it was from the jalapenos. We headed to the bowling alley where I sat and watched the fun since bowling wasn't a good idea at 38 almost 39 weeks pregnant. After 2 hours of watching the fun, I realized I needed to go home and lay down. I was in some serious pain. I called my mom to tell her I wasn't feeling well and then it hit me - AM I IN LABOR? - I was hysterical. I didn't have a bag packed, we weren't ready for the baby and it was terrible weather. My mom was able to calm me down and I headed in the house to get stuff done.
A quick toss of a few things in a bag, a baby outfit, a pillow and some blankets later, I was miserable. I felt like I could vomit. I was able to get into the bath tub and relax for about 20 minutes and kindly Mark shaved my legs for me. You know the important stuff has to be done before you go into labor. Heaven forbid having hairy legs when you go into labor. I exited the bath tub and immediately was sick. I knew it was time to start timing the contractions. 12 minutes apart moved to 10 and then finished about 8 minutes apart 3 hours later. Never any more progress than that. SUCH a tease.  We waited up until about 2:30am and realized it was over. Just a quick practice to make sure we were ready. This baby will decide when it wants to come out- and its just not ready yet.
Baby Lee- we are ready for you to come out. We want to see your cute face and name you. You are welcome to join us at any time!

0 Week 38 Update- were rounding third and heading for home!

Week 38 Update= it will be long I am sure
Total weight gain: 18lbs- but after a bout of false labor now 14lbs.
How big is baby?:lets just say big....

Maternity clothes?: I am running out of clothes and with the warmer weather, I am thankful its almost over. I have managed to pull out some summer dresses that are non-maternity, however, its getting pretty ugly.
Stretch marks? slight ones on the belly button area but nothing I am too worried about... they are small and I am sure with the HUGENESS of my belly I will need some cream and tanning and will be fine.
Symptoms? I will make a separate post on the false labor but its pretty ugly- huge feet after about 6 hours in the day and they go down at night (Thank the Lord) - I have heartburn again, but I am hoping that is due to the hair.
Sleep? between hot flashes and sweating, using the bathroom and needing to shift, its pretty ugly.
Best moment this week?: actually getting the room assembled. Were still missing the changing table and dresser but due to my dad having to go on an emergency business trip, we ran out of luck there.
Movement?: it has slowed down because the little one is just too big to move around.
Food cravings? food usually sounds terrible at this point. I really dont want to eat much because my stomach is compressed. I am sticking to fruits and veggies most of the time with limited meat.
Labor signs?: see false labor post!
Belly button in or out?: still holding out as an inny
Gender? team green
What I miss? shoes- cute heels and springy shoes. Atleast it has been raining like mad so I am not missing much.
What I am looking forward to: meeting Baby Lee- I thought I would want to go late, however, I am anxious to see if its a boy or girl.
Milestone: one week hits tomorrow. WOW.

0 hello my name is Kelly and I am a slacker...

The first step is admitting it correct?!? This last month has been a huge month for us and I am surprised we have lasted this long. I will break these posts up into three or four posts and will hopefully add pictures once I can find the cord to the camera. Love the fact that I can edit after the fact.

We started out the beginning of March by putting a bid in on a house. We were quick to jump on it and we are VERY happy that it is now ours. So basically in 19 days time, we purchased and moved into a new house. I think that is some sort of record. I am still waiting to hear if it is (yeah right). I think we get extra props for doing it while I am this pregnant. The last update was week 32 the second week of March and its been a whirlwind since then. Baby showers, moves, work craziness and life has been running us around and I am surprised we are still standing. I promise to be brief but I do want to detail the baby showers, the events and even our emotions in the next few posts. I hope that I dont bore anyone, but I guess you can stop reading at any time if you want!

First up last 4 week updates for pregnancy! I wont follow the typical standards here that I have been following but I will give some updates and post a few pics.

Weeks 33-35: Baby is the size of.... well lets just say BIG. At this point the fruits and veggies just scare me and make me wonder how this thing is going to come out and not kill me like a terrible alien movie!
Weight Gain: Right now I am up 12lbs overall and I am happy with that. Considering the baby is measuring between 6 and 6.5 lbs according to the ultrasounds, I am going to count that as a win. I need to keep moving and hopefully it will make it easier to get around after the baby is born.
Labor signs: oh Braxton Hicks- I dont see how many people can live with you the entire pregnancy. I started getting them more frequently when I am stressed or tired, which is a great sign to stop and rest. I dont do that well at this point, so its a good reminder.
What I miss: normal pretty shoes, a beer on a hot spring day, normal clothes and being able to see all of my body parts (yes I said it, makes it hard to not be able to reach your legs to shave them.)
What I am looking forward to: I dont want the pregnancy to end, however, I am getting really excited to see if its a boy or girl.
Belly button is still in, ankles are only swollen when I am on my feet too much and the gestational diabetes is pretty well controlled by insulin shots. I can tell you I am not going to miss the shots of insulin and hopefully I wont have to take them after the baby is born. The blood sugar crashes at night are not ideal that is for sure. I will be ready to stop with the finger pricking and stabbing myself with needles.
Baby looks healthy each week when we have the ultrasound and is very cooperative so hopefully it will stay that way! We were measuring between 58-73 percentile so this is definitely a big baby!

0 Update for week 32 and belly pics

Week 32 UPDATE - how time actually goes by
Total weight gain: 10 lbs
How big is baby?: I will tell you the truth - these measurements are odd balls-  that is a jicama... good to eat- not too pretty.

Maternity clothes?: oh Lord yes- Mark has banned some of my regular clothes and when you see my belly pic you will know why.
Stretch marks? stay away! nothing thus far.
Symptoms? besides being huge and looking like a watermelon swallowed my belly space I am doing great.
Sleep? when I go to bed at a decent hour its fine. I get up but I will live
Best moment this week?: breastfeeding classes and childbirth classes were this past week. we did good but realize that we are not into the whole holistic birthing process. I am not pro drugs and want to wait as long as possible, however, I dont want Mark to soothe me... that stuff doesnt work for me.
Movement?: wow this kiddo likes to move. Its pretty funny to put something on my belly and watch it do the wave.
Food cravings? bananas.. weird I know. I blame the target billboard for the new store opening with Bananas on it.
Labor signs?: none thank the Lord
Belly button in or out?: still holding out as an inny
Gender? team green
What I miss? a clear face- I think 16 year old acne has caught me. I also miss seeing my feet and being able to bend over.
What I am looking forward to: moving into our new house and our first baby shower tomorrow.
Milestone: we only have 8 weeks left! WOW. that is really fast.

Here is the belly pic for the week. I have gotten HUGE... her is one from a few weeks ago and then this week.

30 weeks

32 weeks- baby lee is getting BIG

0 The process of buying a house...

One thing I will never recommend is purchasing a house when you are pregnant. It sounds like a natural flow- finding out your having a baby, looking for more space to raise your unborn child and for quality education, and a place to dig in your roots. I can say all of these things were going through our mind when we decided it was time to settle down. We started our search in October of 2010, visiting open houses and getting a feel of the market. We found some good options, but nothing that ever struck our fancy until we visited an open house in a small neighborhood in Anderson. We walked in and I loved the house. It was clean, open and decorated well, just overpriced for the square footage and amenities. We never found anything that just fit for us over the next few months so we decided to give up.

Fast forward to February. House hunting is back on our minds, but we really haven’t had any luck finding any new options. We again stopped in a few open houses and started looking more frequently at listings, but yet nothing. We were both still traveling and decided it was time to buckle down and get the search on the way. We decided a Saturday of looking at homes would be a great option. We started around 12pm looking at close to 15 homes before we were just plain tired. The house we loved previously was off the market, our second choice literally went off the market while we were looking at it, and our third choice was a short sale and the bank wasn’t willing to accept any offers except above asking price. INSANE – yes. We knew that it was time to buckle down and start planning to have our little one in our apartment until something opened up. Disappointed – yes, giving up – no. We were frustrated, but we knew it was something we had to get through. We scheduled more time with our relator to look at a few more homes on Tuesday night and I honestly wasn’t willing to go. Mark was going to have to decide on these on his own. I didn’t want to interrupt my day for houses we didn’t like. We had a plan in place to be in communication if we needed to see another house for a second time, so I went on with my day working out and was prepared to head home for the night.

That is when we got the call. The house we liked in October was open again – no idea why, but I felt it was a sign. I ran to Anderson to meet Mark and the relator for another look prior to us jumping on placing an offer. I waited around for about 2 hours then we got the call. We had a preliminary inspection report for the walk through which helped and we felt confident we wanted to put in a bid. After sitting until about 10:30 we had our offer in and the games began. We had a few back and forth discussions and we were accepted. We thought we were prepared for the whirlwind of events, however, we are still wondering if we are.  We are currently two weeks away and praying every second that our final demands are met and we are ready to finally move. We have been packing boxes, labeling boxes that were already packed and preparing for what is going to be a long and tedious move. I have attached some photos and hopefully we will be moving in soon. Keep your fingers crossed.

0 Its been too long and a lot is going on!

So there is a real reason I have been away for a while- we have been pretty stinking busy. I will split the next few posts up since they all need their own time. I am dealing with the gestational diabetes, but not well. I have one more week to get it under control and then we move to insulin. I am following the diet, watching what I  eat and still not getting the numbers I need to. Baby Lee is handling it well... measuring at 4.6lbs as of yesterday and still growing and developing well. I am glad that part is hanging in there. I have a few more posts to split up- buying a house, birthing and breastfeeding classes and maternity leave. Oh the things that are going through my head! I will hopefully have more to post after this weekend as well. Its my first baby shower and one I am REALLY excited about. I will also give a weekly update and hopefully post a few more belly pics. I am getting pretty darn big these days. I am not ready for the next 7 weeks!

0 Update from the test and the feared results Gestational Diabetes

I came out of the test on Monday pretty hopeful that I would have great results on Wednesday and I would be ready to tackle the rest of this pregnancy. Not such luck would be had by me. I received the phone call from the doctor in the middle of a meeting but was able to grab it and run out of the conference room. The nurse was the bearer of bad news but she was very informative and helped me get into a gestational diabetes class the next day. I didnt take the news well, but I also didnt cry like a giant baby like I thought I would. So many things make me very emotional these days so it helps to not freak out over bad news once in a while. I called Mark, my parents and quickly started reading a million articles online about GD. Wow, I have a lot to learn.
The class was yesterday and was roughly 2.5 hours. I wasn't sure if it was just for gestational patients, and luckily it was. I dont think it would have been very helpful to have other diabetic patients in the class, but you never know sometimes. I was one of 4 students taking the class and I was pretty nervous about learning the ins and outs. I filled out a million pieces of paper and prepared to take good notes. I can tell you after 2.5 hours of class, I still have a lot to figure out.
I know it is all temporary, but since its not just about me, it makes it way more stressful than just watching my sugar levels. I am scared of being induced early, having a c-section or having a child with a higher risk of having diabetes. I am sure you will hear all about it in the next 10 weeks as I prepare for baby lee to arrive.