'Bumpdate' # 1

Sometimes I will start a post and, for whatever reason, will forget about it and just not get it finished so it sits there until I delete it.

I started this post April 14th of last year, shortly after we found out I was pregnant. I really enjoyed reading it. I think the reason that I didn't post it is because we weren't planning on telling people until she was 12 weeks cooked and by that time I was pretty much sick all of the time and blogging was not on my radar. 

So here it is, the one and only 'Bumpdate' I ever got around to, if you're interested :)

To Be Induced: Part 1

**This was written the night we found out that I was being induced the following day

Wednesday, December 16th

I'm sitting on the couch typing this after a pretty long day. My mother-in-law had our nephew for the day, so I spent the morning visiting at her house. From there, Kelly picked me up and we went on our way to the doctors office for our (almost) 41 week baby appointment. 

Today was scheduled an ultrasound, to be sure there was enough fluid in there for her, among other things. We had our non-stress test on Monday and she checked out to be just fine. (For most of my third trimester, I had high blood pressure, causing me to skip right from monthly doctor visits to weekly visits and, a couple of times, even having appointments every couple of days. The word preeclampsia being thrown around a lot. Not fun.) When last Friday rolled around and my blood pressure had skyrocketed, they sent me to get blood work done with talks of inducing on Saturday depending on the results. Scary and not exciting. Fortunately, everything came back normal. 

So here we were come Wednesday, sitting in the office waiting for our doctor and I'm all smiles thinking okay, she did great on the stress test and the ultrasound shows everything is nice and homey in there, we are good to go! Let's go home and do some more stair climbs! 

Then the doctor came in and...lo and behold...high blood pressure. All seven times he checked it (no joke). After checking things down below and consulting with my two other doctors, he told us that they all believed the best thing would be to induce labor. 

Scary and not something I wanted to do. It didn't make any sense to me because our baby was perfectly fine, as shown in all the checkups Friday, Monday and today. 

As the doctor explained more about me having gestational hypertension and the complications that can arise during and after labor for mother, we understood the reason for recommending induction. I was extremely worried because I know that inducing labor increases the chances of having a c-section. Again, scary and, in a perfect world, not something I wanted to happen. 

As much as we both wanted labor to start naturally, we thought the safest route would be induction as the doctors recommended. 

I also had this horrible picture of induction being hooked up to a bunch of IVs and them pumping you full of some sort of something. Not so much. The way that it would actually be started is by them giving my down under a little dissolving pill that would soften everything even more and boost the contractions up. Okay, that I can deal with. 

So on our way home, we stopped for Kelly to get a haircut, then again at his mom's to pick up my vehicle and say a quick hello. Then we came home and quick cleaned out the fridge, did some vacuuming, washed the bathroom, finished up laundry, cleaned the stove, pledged the woodwork. You know, basically everything so we could come home to a squeaky clean house. 

We had a yummy steak dinner followed by nice warm showers. Now I'm sitting on the couch writing this, while all of the Christmas lights are on in the house, The Grinch is on TV and Kelly is next to me drinking a beer. 

I look forward to going to bed tonight and snuggling as close as possible to my husband, because next time we sleep at home, we'll have a little girl by our side. 

A Diaper Party For The Guys

So, one of the coolest things ever for a dad-to-be, Kelly's brother and sister-in-law threw him a diaper party. It's like a baby shower, but for guys. 

This is a zero-picture post because this happened to be a guy's only party and they had much better things to do then take pictures...you know, like drink beer and stuff.

Instead of a shower with a registry, the guests simply have to bring a package of diapers. Easy as that! By bringing diapers, guests recieved a raffle ticket to be put in the drawing for a few different gift cards. I believe they had a few for Cabelas and some gas stations. His cousin drew one of the gas station cards and ended up giving it to Kelly, which was really sweet. 

They made a bunch of easy food that could sit out for a while, sloppy joe's in the crock pot, chips with queso and salsa, oreo cake balls and some other munchies. The party was in the shop at the farm where they could have the heat on. They listened to a few football games, played darts, bean bags, and beer pong. And drank beer. Don't forget the beer. 

Kaileigh even make a cake out of beer bottles and the top beer had a baby bottle nipple. Now obviously a beer cake isn't going to last long in that situation, so I've googled a picture of what I imagined it looked like :) 

Buzzfeed

It was a great way for Kelly to get together with the guys to celebrate becoming a dad, without all of the fluff and stuff of a baby shower. And as he didn't get home until about 3:30 am, I'm assuming they had fun!

It was like a mini Christmas morning when I finally got him out of bed the next day. We ended up with an unbelievable amount of diapers. 17 packages of diapers and quite a few packages of wipes as well. And ye of little faith here had a thought that, being guys, they would all bring size 1 diapers, I was wrong! We ended up with all sizes, newborn through 4! And just because I could...I counted them. 969 diapers. 969! 

We're so grateful to Chris & Kaileigh for throwing this party. We're incredibly fortunate to have such amazing friends and family to celebrate the great things in life. 

Everyone was so generous, we now have a giant pile of diapers to help get us through the first year of her life! 

She's Already Teaching Me A Thing Or Two

As we wait day after day for our daughter to make her way into this big, wide world, she is already teaching us one of the most important things about being a parent. Patience.

For a couple of weeks now, I've been hiking up and down our hill, climbing our stairs again and again, eating spicy food, filling up on pineapple, washing the floors on hands and knees...pretty much any safe thing that's been suggested hoping to get her out and not go past my due date (why are due dates necessary?!). 

This past weekend, I finally came to terms with the fact that she is going to come whenever her sweet heart desires. There is nothing I'm able to do about it. Sure, I might try to 'help' things along, but ultimately it will happen when it happens. 

This is one of the things that I want to keep at the top of my list of 'parental priorities', if you will. As much as I want and like to control things in my life, she will now be a part of my life, a part that I cannot control. 

Sure, we can try to help as much as possible, giving her nudges in the right direction, but in the end we have to remember that she is her own person and will ultimately have to get there on her own. 

As much as I might want to push her to crawl, talk, walk, learn to read, make new friends, play a sport...all of these things will come in time. Or they may not come at all. It's going to be our job to be there for her, having her back and guiding her while she is testing, learning, and figuring out these new things for herself. 

No matter how caught up we get in day-today- life, I hope to always remember this very important first lesson my unborn daughter has taught me. 

"Patience is not the ability to wait, 

but the ability to keep a good attitude while you are waiting."

-Joyce Meyer

To Answer Your Question...

...have you had that baby yet?

Here's my answer.

Finally...Christmas Season Is Here!

How was your (hopefully, long) weekend?

Besides a minor, pregnancy-induced hormonal fit that I had on Friday, our weekend was great. I'm going to blame it on being overly tired from all the festivities on Wednesday & Thursday...that's okay, right? 

I've always loved the weekend of Thanksgiving because it is always filled with family and friends, everyone is so laid back and relaxed. It's just a good time! 

The next best part is decorating the house, inside and out. And we always end up getting our tree. 

We didn't see our favorite photographer this year, so these are Kelly's mad skills with an iPhone :) Here is our tree from last year. 

It's been funny these past few weeks, we've spent a lot of time saying "This is our last time ever doing this alone!" 

And nothing is more official than having stockings for the whole family, right? I got one for each of us last month at Hobby Lobby when they were having their 50% off Christmas sale. They ended up being only $6.00 a piece - score! Since we don't have a fireplace mantel, I'm going to screw some hooks onto an old piece of barn wood and hang it with the stockings above our pellet stove. 

When do you put up your tree? Real or fake (no judgements, it's the Christmas spirit that counts!)? To be honest, we have one real and three, small, fake ones :) 

Hope you have a wonderful day.

PS.

Don't forget, it's Cyber Monday. Make sure to check if there's something you've been really saving for! 

You Know It's Time To Buy A Maternity Shirt When...

You start looking like Gloria from Modern Family. And I don't mean in the Va Va Voom kind of way.

The other day, I was telling my sister how I finally caved and bought a few maternity shirts. Reason being this. I was out in the pole barn last week sanding a couple of boards when, all of a sudden, my belly felt cold. Like, really cold. So I looked down and lo and behold- my stomach is just hanging out! Yea. Not pretty.

This is the impression I like to do for my sister that gets her rolling every time...I shake it and everything.

But then she reminded me of Modern Family. Remember the episode when Gloria was pregnant for Joe and they were all trying to get her to realize that she needed to update her wardrobe?

That was me. Just chilling with my belly out. 

So that, folks, that is how I knew I needed to get some maternity shirts.

Pregnancy: Tips for Second Trimester Bliss

During my first trimester, everything I read said that the second trimester would bring more energy and less nausea. 

Needless to say, I thought people were insane. What, my body just knows when it's been three months? Then - BAM - I magically feel better? No way. 

Yes way. These people do not lie. I remember being sick every single day, then waking up one day and feeling pretty good. That day I did get sick a couple of times, but overall felt pretty okay. It went on like that for about two more days then, just like magic, I felt one hundred times better.

By this time for me it was June, just beginning summer in Michigan. Here are a few things that helped to make the next three months comfortable.


1.) Maternity Shorts

I bought two pair. A grey denim pair for daily use that were a shorter length and had just two small, stretchy panels on the side that were easily mistaken for pockets. No belly panel and not one person realized they were maternity shorts. The second pair I bought for the barn. They were a longer length and had the full belly band cover - with all of the bending, stretching, turning and twisting, I didn't need any of my front or back accidentally popping out!

2.) Forever 21 Tank Tops

These camis are the best. They are thin and come in a ton of different colors, but my favorite thing about them is how nice and long they are. Instead of spending $10 or more for those shirt extender bands that only work as shirt extenders, I recommend investing in a few of the F21 tank tops. 

3.) Maternity Pillow

My sister surprised me with a full body, maternity sleeping pillow. It's great! I even took mine camping with us to Silver Lake. There are several options out there for different shaped pillows and it will make your nights much easier having one, especially when you get into the third trimester. One tip, don't throw away the nice zip-up bag it comes in, save it for storage. 

4.) Air Conditioning

Okay, I realize that if you don't have air conditioning, you are most likely not going to put it in solely because of your pregnancy. I feel for those poor mommas who have to spend their third trimester in the hot summer months. 

In June, we had our family reunion in Charleston where we all played 18 rounds of golf. I was on a team with one of my cousins and our grandpa, and by the 17th hole I just couldn't play any more, I was dripping hot and so uncomfortable. That was when my saving grace grandpa did something wonderful. He dipped one of the golf towels in our cooler full of ice water, rang it out and draped it over the back of my neck. Today, I can still remember how absolutely amazing and refreshing that felt. Same idea here, if you're going out, take a frozen water bottle with you. When you get hot, you can rest it on the back of your neck or hold it up to your face. 

One of my favorite things to do is sit outside and read, so I just moved my chair under our giant shade tree, filled up our kiddy pool with ice cold water from the hose and stuck my feet in while I read. If there's no breeze, take a fan outside - you might get some laughs, but who cares, you're pregnant! Try anything to keep you from becoming overheated because, when that happens, life becomes unbearable for you and everyone around you. 

5.) Lumbar Pillow or Stand Up Desk

When working at the office, it suddenly got quite uncomfortable to sit at a desk for eight hours. My back would get quite sore, which never happened before. 

I found what helped is when I took an extra sweater and rolled it up to form a sort of lumbar pillow to set behind my lower back in my office chair. This lumbar back support pillow would work perfectly for something more long term than a sweater.  Another option is to use a stand up desk. I was able to use this standing desk, which was awesome because it sits on top of your current desk and is adjustable. That meant I could stand up for an hour, then it easily drops back down so that I could sit for a while.   


So that's it! A pretty short and sweet list because, like I said, I felt much better the second trimester. A few clothing items to make you slightly more comfortable in your growing body and remembering to stay cool in the summer months. 

What season was your second trimester? Any suggestions for making it more comfortable? 

Maternity Leave

I'm on it! Officially as of today :) 

With just four and a half weeks until this little girl's predicted arrival, I decided to take the last session of the year off. It happened to be perfect timing too, because it's been getting too much to throw saddles around, arena set up, mounting & dismounting riders and all of the other physical aspects of being a therapeutic instructor. 

So this will be crazy. I haven't had four weeks off since I was seventeen. And in all actuality, it's more than four weeks because I'm not going back until the end of January, but I figure getting acquainted with our little one and learning the ropes of being a momma and a three person family is going to be a 24-7 job in itself. 

Crossing my fingers that my to-do list, combined with a good amount of afternoon naps, will keep me busy enough that I don't drive everyone and their brother up a wall! Wish me luck...actually, wish my husband luck :) 

Hoping you have a great weekend! 

Pregnancy: Surviving the First Trimester

The first trimester was not fun. I suppose that the first month and a half really doesn't count, because I didn't even know I was pregnant until I was about a week late and took a test. 

About 2 months was when it started to be not so fun. That was when the sickness started. 'Morning' sickness...ha. 'All day all night' sickness for is more like it. Here are a few things that helped me through, in case you're in the same position as I was. 

Baby Shower

Hello Lovelies :)

My sister, with the help of my grandma and a couple others, threw us a baby shower a couple of weeks ago. It was so beautiful I couldn't even believe it. It was very casual, but her adorable touches just made it so perfect. Baby and I were surrounded by love of friends and family and it was such a wonderful day.

I thought I'd share some pictures, if you're interested...

Another Critter to the Clan

So you've all met our dogs, and most recently our chickens, and now we're adding another to the clan, but this time, it's a...