Pregnancy Brain

It's true. I have a case of the pregnancy brain like never before. I seriously can hear something and forget it in the drop of a hat. I'm clumsy and sort of out of it sometimes. :)

Here are just a few of my shining moments lately:

- While at the lawyer's office working on our will, I inadvertently called it the EX-e-cu-tor of the will (as in the one who kills, rather than an ex-EC-u-tor). And no, I did not realize this until we got home and I told my mom it was weird to pick out "EX-e-cu-tors" for our will. She laughed and corrected me, when I immediately remembered that the entire time we were at the lawyer's office, I said it wrong. He didn't laugh at me, though I'm sure he was laughing hysterically inside his head.

- I signed a few emails from work this week "Fanielle" and didn't realize until it was far too late. That darn F is just too close to the D on the keyboard. :)

- We put the baby's swing together last night. I'm a smart girl, I really am. But those simple directions were like straight up Greek to me. I was stressed just looking at them.

- A few people know about this but not too many. About 2 weeks ago, I decided that it would be nice to touch up the walls in our house to cover scuff marks, etc. I diligently went down to the basement, got the antique white (the color of the walls I was touching up), and went to work. I painted for over 2 hours with a mini roller, lovingly preparing our house for baby Carter. And then it hit me. I never even looked at the finish and had just painted eggshell finished walls with flat finish. When it dried, it looked like putty spots over about 40% of the walls in our house. Lovely, huh??? Highly embarassing when we had guests come that night. BUT, I have spent the last two days doing it allllll over again with the correct finish this time. Lesson learned: ALWAYS confirm finish, especially when things in your head are already a little muddy.

- I said I would post a pregnancy pic last night for my 30 week update. I didn't. Why??? I forgot. Shocking....

I am HOPING for it to be posted tonight. :)

Pregnancy Highlights: 30 Weeks

Warning!!! This edition of pregnancy highlights might be a little more negative Nancy than ever before :)

How Far Along: 30 weeks...he is 16 inches long, and weighs about 3 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gain. And we'll leave it at that. :) Though the doctor said she is very pleased.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and my khakis are getting too tight now. Ugh. (Bethany suggested that each week for this section, I tell you what clothing I got or show a picture of what I'm wearing. Sounds easy enough!! :) I will take our 30 week picture tonight and update this post with it later!)

Motherhood jeans, FLATS, and a Motherhood top from my sister's friend! :)

Best Moment this week: Putting away the stuff from the baby shower in NJ. So much fun to organize it all!!!!

Gender: Still a Boy...Carter Nicholas

Movement: He still doesn't kick like I expected he would by 30 weeks. Definitely squirmy and he definitely kicks, but I thought by this point it would be unbearable to tolerate. Guess those days are still coming...HOWEVER, he did kick me so hard in the ribs yesterday that it made an echo sound. It was so odd. **Update** funny that about an hour after I wrote this, his kicks have made me experience new things. I just had my first "corner" in my stomach. There was something protruding out the side of my belly (I think his foot) and it moved all over the place still sticking out. It was so weird/funny!! I called Seth at home to tell him about it. :)

Food Craving: Absolutely nothing. Food gives me heartburn, and heartburn makes me grumpy.

What I miss: Not getting heartburn. Iced tea. Sleeping. Wearing flip flops. (Yes, I realize that is un-related to pregnancy, but I thought I'd throw it out there)

Sleep: Not sleeping so fine anymore. Go to the bathroom 3-4 times a night (averaging every 2 hours...insane). Plus, a few nights ago, I started getting leg cramps during the night. Oh, and acid reflux. And then I'm hot. And then cold. Oh, and then hot again. ;)

Symptoms: Heartburn, acid reflux, itcy belly, leg cramps, puffy hands. I can no longer wear my rings (little ditty about that for you: I woke up during the night a few nights ago and my rings were so tight my hands were practically swollen around them. I got up, put my hands in ice water, panicked, and worked for quite some time to get them off. I took Benadryl, used soap, and nothing was working. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I used butter. It was nasty, but I would rather have nasty buttery hands than have my wedding rings cut off my hand. It worked though!!!) I think we'll be done with the rings now though. I told the doctor I was puffy and swollen and she looked at me and said "no, you are not puffy. You are 30 weeks pregnant." haha.

What I am looking forward to: Baby Carter being here so that when I can't sleep and don't have a desire to eat, it is because I have a cutie little baby, and not all of those lovely things listed above. haha.

Happy Friday!

It's your life.

It's your life, what you gonna do?

The world is watching you.

Every day, the choices you make

Say what you are and who your heart beats for.

Baby Shower

We had our baby shower in New Jersey this weekend! Everyone told us that this would really start to make everything seem more "real" and they were definitely right! Hard to believe that in just over 10 weeks, we will be parents.

Everyone put so much effort into making this a special day for us and we feel extremely blessed. On the way home, we couldn't even fathom how much people love us and our unborn child to spend their Saturday with us and spoil us (and baby Carter) absolutely rotten.

Plus, my good friend Allie made the trip all the way from Atlanta. Kidding...haha. Well, she did. But she was visiting her parents in NJ for the week, and it happened to fall on the weekend that my shower was....I was so happy she could come and be there for this important part of our life.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this day special -- from the food, organizing, invitations, cookies, centerpieces, favors, clean up, transportation of the gifts, etc. We really, really appreciate the generosity! :)

Pregnancy Highlights: 29 Weeks

How Far Along: 29 weeks...he is 15 inches long, and weighs about 2 1/2 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Not sure; I have an appt next Wednesday where I'll find out!

Maternity Clothes: Yep.

Best Moment this week: Feeling his feet kick me on the left side, feel him turn over, and then kick me on the right. Really cool!

Gender: Still a Boy...haha

Movement: Really quite a bit now. Sometimes it takes my breath away. He responds pretty well to ice cold water too.

Food Craving: Eh, nothing really this week. Though I'm back to the being hungry a lot thing. It's just lovely....or not. :)

What I miss: Not getting out of breath so easily. haha

Sleep: Still sleeping fine when I'm not getting up to go to the bathroom.

What I am looking forward to: My NJ baby shower on Saturday!!!! :) It will surely make everything seem so much more real.

Symptoms: Starting to get that weird line up my stomach but not too much yet. Itchy belly and arms. Some general discomfort.

A Random Act of Kindness

On my way to a meeting at the main hospital this morning, I stopped at the Starbucks in the lobby to grab a hot tea. I was the third person in line. The woman at the front ordered her drink. When the cashier asked her if that was everything she said "no, and what he wants" and pointed to the man behind her, a surgeon.

I overheard her say "I like to do this once a week as my random act of kindness." He thanked her, took his drink, and put his money on the counter, turned to me and said "Enjoy your drink on me. We'll see how long this goes" and walked away.

I thought it was so cool! So I ordered my drink, and put down money for the man behind me.

Who knows how long the chain lasted, but it was a pretty cool start to the morning. :)

They said WHAT?!?

Seriously, I am often baffled by the fact that some people have no filter whatsoever. I mean, you always hear stories about people asking women when they are due (to find out they aren't pregnant) and things along those lines, but I never really suspected some of them would happen to me.

Just two weeks ago, someone--A MALE--asked me if I was having twins. Um no, just one. But thanks.

And this morning, the cafeteria worker asked me if I was due soon. I told her I was due in just over two and a half months. Her eyes got big and she said "oh, wow." And again I say, thank you for boosting my self-esteem. What I wanted to tell her is that everything is right on target and he's the size he should be, but I thought I wouldn't come across so nice when I was hungry and offended, so I just smiled and walked away.

One of my friends told me that a guy once said to her "I can tell you're pregnant because your thighs are filling out." Oh men, please never ever speak of a woman's thighs. ESPECIALLY when she is pregnant/emotional/violent.

And let's not even get me started on strangers or co-workers touch your stomach. Weird.

I'm sure those of you with babies have also been asked things like this or people have made comments...what are some good ones you've gotten?

My [apparent] third trimester whale picture to come to dropshots sometime tonight hopefully.

Pregnancy Highlights: 28 Weeks

How Far Along: 28 weeks exactly...he is 14.8 inches long, and weighs about 2 1/4 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think 16 pounds. Seems like a lot; doctor wasn't concerned at all, and I don't FEEL like I gained 16 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yep. With no signs of going back anytime soon. haha. I need a pair of cute yoga-type pants for relaxing.

Best Moment this week: Seth feeling him kick finally!

Gender: Still a Boy...haha

Movement: It is so amazing how much more he kicks week to week. I can't feel body parts yet but I can tell which way he is laying based on where his kicks are. At one point earlier in the week, he kicked me directly on the left side, I felt him do a somersault, and then he kicked directly on the right. Pretty cool!

Food Craving: The cereal is toning down (for now), and so is the near-constant hunger, which is nice. I heard it would pass so that's good. Still in a food rut - not sure what I'm in the mood for or not in the mood for. So I guess no REAL cravings right now.

What I miss: Seriously, I miss restaurant iced tea. Bad. :)

Sleep: I can sleep fine except for the 827 times I have to go to the bathroom every night.

What I am looking forward to: When I can start to set some things up around the house to make it feel more like baby is coming soon!!

Symptoms: Itchy skin, super thirsty for ICE COLD water (Seth knows the drill...3/4 ice, 1/4 water) haha. Hmm, what else? My rings also got tight a day or two this week. They are still on now and but I do take them off when they start to feel even remotely tight (even if it is in my head). Don't want to have to get them cut off!!!

'Snow place like home!

Just a few shots of what life has been like on Saturday of this past weekend and then last night into today. In all, we got about 30 or so inches of snow those 2 days. It's been unreal. But fortunately on both of those days, I've been trapped inside with my love and my adorable little puppy....and my cutie little baby, who FINALLY let his daddy feel him kick today! I think the "Wheels on the Bus" song did the trick (off one of the CDs that the Bonilla's sent him!). :)

Good news!

Just got a call from the doctor's office...my glucose levels from my 1-hour test are fantastic and so is my iron level. One more thing to cross of the list of potential complications! :)

Cardboard Testimonies

You might have seen this already, but if not, take a few minutes to watch. It's incredible...

Pregnancy Highlights: 27 Weeks

How Far Along: 27 weeks exactly...he is 14 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 2 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Yes. I think it sounds like too much but the doctor said I am on target, so I guess all is well...

Maternity Clothes: Mmm hmm. And now I am on the lookout for cute PJs for in the hospital. I can't possibly sit in that gown for 2-3 days. I'd go nuts.

Best Moment this week: Hearing his HB at the appt. Oh, and the Children's Place $2.99 sale. I can't wait to dress him in these cute clothes!!!!

Gender: Still a Boy...haha

Movement: So much more each week. I feel him pretty consistently on the outside. Still no seeing him move (well, I think I might have ONCE), but it'll come in time. Seth is pretty sure he felt him Wednesday night which is cool, but we have to get a definitive yet. I did find out that I had an anterior placenta this week, which is no big deal. It just means that instead of the placenta being behind the baby it is currently in front (meaning between him and my belly). Therefore, it will make it harder to feel from the outside, especially for Seth who can't pair it up with the kicks from the inside.

Food Craving: Still cereal. And sort of any food in general. I'm containing myself but I hit this point the past few days where I am seriously starving every 3-4 hours and sometimes not even full after I eat. I know that won't last long though because he'll eventually push up against my stomach and restrict that, so that's good!

What I miss: Not having a baby's head resting in my pelvis and making it painful to walk sometimes. :) (It'll all be worth it though in 13 weeks!)

Sleep: Well, on Wednesday night, I managed to only wake up once to go to the bathroom, so that's a plus! And last night, I was so sound asleep that I never heard Seth and Bentley come in from watching tv, so that's good too! The most lovely sleep I get is from about 4-5:30 a.m. Isn't that nice that my body decides to get comfy exactly 90 minutes before it's time to get up?

What I am looking forward to: Meeting the little guy. I know that when all is said and done, Iwill look back and say wow, that was fast. But for now, time is going as slow as molasses in January.

Symptoms: Just some pain when he, um, rests in places he wouldn't. Other than that, everything is peachy.

Simple pleasures

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a cute idea and a fun way to get out of my writer's rut.
Here are some of my favorite "simple pleasures":
* Seeing our baby on ultrasound or hearing his heartbeat at appointments.
* Feeling the baby kick.
* Coming home to this bouncy little puppy who seriously loves so unconditionally it can make your head spin. I love him!

* Cuddling with my love.

* Going on date nights, even if they are just going out for dinner and running and errand together.

* A Starbucks latte when it's freezing out.

* A warm bubble bath while reading the magazine that came in the mail that day.

* Baby toes. Seriously, cutest things ever. I feel like I will stare at Carter's toes all day.

* When the boss lets everyone in the office leave a few hours early "just because."

* The way the house looks/smells for 4 whole minutes after I spend the day cleaning.

* Snow when you have absolutely nowhere to go.

* Laying on the beach and knowing you have absolutely nothing else to do.

* When Seth gives me flowers for no reason at all. Like when I came back to my office on the day of the big ultrasound and saw a big vase of red roses and baby's breath, JUST because he knew I was nervous. I almost melted. Such a good husband.

That's just a FEW. What are some of your simple pleasures?

I've got nothin.

Pregnancy has sapped my brain of anything worthy of blogging about. It is writer's block to the max. Well, either that or life is just revolving alot around preparations for el baby, and that's all I have to say.

Here are some random things for now:

1. Seriously, the craving for cereal is so intense it made me salivate last night at the grocery store as I stood in the cereal aisle like a child. Cookie Crisp, Life, Kix, Cocoa Puffs, Apple Jacks...they all sounded SO AMAZING. Somehow, I have been transported back to when I was 6, because only kid cereals are appealing to me right now. Rumor has it I'm craving the calcium of the milk, but I'm not sure. I did look on my baby message board I am a member of and there is a whole post about women craving cereal. So I'm not alone. Mmm, what kind will I eat for a snack tonight?!?! Lucky Charms perhaps! I don't think I've ever, before now, heard of anyone craving cereal so bad.

2. One of my best friends had her baby last night - a little girl (which surprised us all since we swore it was a boy). Her name is Haylen Nicole and I am visiting her today. YAY! :)

3. Last night, I had an uncontrollable urge to clean the showers. It was weird, but wildly fulfilling to see it so clean afterwards (I only got to the one!).

4. Tomorrow night is the last night of childbirth class! Woo hoo! Good thing we're talking about the 2 things that freak me out the most -- vacuums and forceps. Nasty.

5. I still haven't found a diaper bag to register for. I love the Vera Bradley ones, especially the solid colors like black or brown, but wow, they are expensive!

6. My dreams are irrational and weird, and in real (awake) life, I have this unexplainable fear that something is going to happen to someone I love. Maybe it's the whole emotional hormonal mess thing?

What's new with you?

Pregnancy Highlights: 26 Weeks

Yes, I realize I just did one of these, but I'm going to try to get on track with updating them on Fridays when the "week" changes. I'm already behind on this one, and the next one will be coming again in a few days. haha. THEN, it should be on a normal track.

How Far Along: 26 weeks, 3 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 13 pounds (I have an appt next Wednesday so we'll see how that changes by then ha!)

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And my sister's friend gave me a bunch of stuff which has been a HUGE help!

Best Moment this week: Getting his furniture!!! It makes everything so "real" now.

Gender: It's A Boy - Carter Nicholas

Movement: A lot this week. He's starting to be awake more often and is much more wakeable when I want to feel him.

Food Craving: Still cereal and fondue. Other than that, I'm totally in a food rut. Nothing sounds particularly good, and I'm bored of the things that do.

What I miss: Still missing my iced tea. And the yummy albacore tuna at one of my favorite restaurants. Mmm...now THAT would break the food rut.

Sleep: Non-existent at night. Wonderful at naptime.

What I am looking forward to: Working on his nursery more. I did some stuff in there this weekend, but I can't wait to keep folding the tiny baby clothing and organize it all.

Symptoms: Slight nausea when he does somersaults. A headache today and a feeling of impending stomach doom. Everyone I know has the stomach flu, so I'm praying it will bypass the Ran household.