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Monday, August 27, 2012

Go, Go!!

"Go, Go!!" is Charlotte's catch phrase. We never really know the appropriate time to say it, because if we say it randomly, she looks at us confused, but if we say it before we go someplace, she shouts it right along with us.

That has little to do with anything at the moment, except for "Go, Go!" time is approaching...I think.
I've been having some pretty noticeable contractions the last 20 hours. I called the on call OB last night and explained that I was having some mildly painful, very uncomfortable contractions every 8-10 minutes and that I am 35 weeks and 4 days. She was very kind and recommended I try to get some shut eye and if they continue to get closer and stronger, to call again - though she thought it was more likely that they'd go away on their own. I woke up a couple times in the night due to the discomfort, but by morning, they were irregular again and more of a nuisance than anything else.

By noon, I decided to start timing them again and they were 8 minutes, 7 minutes, 6 minutes, 5 minutes...lasting about a minute each. They didn't hurt bad though. The only "real" contractions I knew
were from my labor with Charlotte and they were crazy climb the walls insane bad. By 2:30, I decided to call my OB again and just let them know how frequently they were coming. He decided he wanted to see me within the hour. So my mom came to my house because Charlotte was still napping and I went to the office by myself.

The contractions are doing something, but he says "I don't think it's active labor." and while I didn't either, I still don't know what the crap the difference is. I'm still confused about when I'm supposed to call, since I was always supposed to call when they're 5 minutes apart. They've been 5 minutes apart all day, and now I'm starting to have back ache and heavy legs.

I just wish I knew what I was doing.

I went to get groceries after my doctor appointment, and was so uncomfortable people were starting to take notice. I started to tear up a couple of times because I just feel so clueless and I can't imagine letting this go on for another week or more. Though I want my baby to be born full term, I'm not sure stopping to catch my breath every 5 minutes around the clock sounds like a good way to spend the next week.

I don't want to spend any unneeded time in the hospital. I just want to know when it's the real thing. I don't think it truly is right now, because it's supposed to hurt...right?

Ugh. I suck at this.

How did you know it was go, go time when it was the real thing?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Kid's Store Jargon

Last week I did a little clothing shopping for Charlotte. I had a couple of coupons that were going to expire soon, so what better reason, really?
I'm not sure why I always have a story about shopping. see here. It's probably because I'm a mall rat.
In this particular story, I'm shopping at a kid's clothing store and looking for some sale items that I saw online.
The only signs I see say
"All jeans $9.99!!"
"Select leggings $7.99"
"Basic tees $5.99 regular price $12.99"

There is one stack of t-shirts by the sale sign and they are orange. Really.
There are three stacks of different leggings that do not match said orange shirt. (different collections, of course.)
I ask the girl working there about any other sales they have going on, as when I was online, I saw many items I was interested in. She explained that it was a "back to school sale? so it's like for the bigger kids? and your little girl isn't in school yet?"
So I asked her about the shirts that were marked $12.99 and if they were part of the basic tee sale. "Well these are fashion tees? and the sale is on basic tees? See how these have like glitter and buttons and some embellishments? The basic tees don't. They have ruffles?"

I'm gritting my teeth and kind of want her to just leave me alone. But she grabs her floor chart that diagrams where the sale items are to be laid out and explains it to me like it's a map of IKEA. And tells me how their store has this random section of extra shelving? so that's where I'll find the other ruffled tees?
Ok, got it.  This wall is where I'll find my daughter's size. Thanks.

So I start picking through the clothing that doesn't seem to have any sale sign near it, but it's the stuff I saw online. Oh look. There's a sale sticker on the tag! That would have been helpful to know. I choose the items that I want to buy and as I check out, I let her know that these are the "back to school" sale things I saw online. She exclaims, "OH! Those are mark downs! That's what you should have asked for!"

holy crap.
I love shopping online.

Would you rather shop at Brick and Mortar places (as they say on the interwebs) or do you like online shopping like me?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

oh hey.

I'm a blogging slacker.

It's just that I've been real busy eating cake and being rude to strangers in parking lots. (do not say dumb things to me when I'm carrying cake in a parking lot.)

So other than my extreme debilitating pelvic pain, being 34+ weeks pregnant is a breeze. It actually has been a little better the last couple of days where I haven't cried, so that's cool. I talked with my OB about it today and he actually showed some sympathy but said that nothing has actually been proven to help with this type of pain other than delivering the baby. And of course, like every appointment before, he asks if I want to schedule my c-section. In case you didn't know, I'm going to try for a VBAC and I'm pretty much set on it. I really hope it works out this time, and while I recognize that I need to do what's best for both the baby and me, I will be pretty ticked if I have to have my baby surgically removed.

The baby's room is almost complete after cracking down and working hard on it this week. So while I don't have a picture of what it looks like now, I do have a picture of what it doesn't look like anymore.
Marcus put in a nice little closet system!
Because of that adorable little closet, everything that was once in there, was thrown out into the rest of the room. Resulting in this:

What.

You think I should be embarrassed?

That closet housed all of our photo albums, gift wrap, tacky dresses, old coats, picture frames, and random crap. And with the basement being under construction, there hasn't been a ton of room to move things down there to store - until the last couple of weeks. So FINALLY, with some help from my mom, (since Marcus has been extra busy with work and finishing the basement) we got everything sorted, stored, or trashed. She and I put the new crib together, and I now have all of the new baby's clothing hung and organized. I'm feeling so much more ready than I was even 5 days ago! 
We're keeping Charlotte in a crib, mostly because I don't want to deal with any changes right now, and she hasn't been protesting at all. If it's not broke, don't fix it. 


In other news, we had some family pictures taken this week, and I couldn't be happier! Anne Jansen  did an amazing job. There was only one picture where I look larger than the average bear and it was an unposed one. So when she tells a pregnant chick to stand/sit/pose a certain way, do it. It's like magic.
 I will share some photos in the next few days. But I'll leave you with this one that warms up my icy heart.

a  candid moment with my sweet little Charlotte



Thursday, August 9, 2012

Homestretch

Is there an official week in pregnancy where you can say you're in the homestretch? I think most people would say that it's at 37 weeks when you're considered full term.
I say it's whenever the crap I feel like it is. In which case, it's now. 33 weeks.

Knowing that I delivered Charlotte a little early, at 38 weeks, it makes me feel like it really is just a matter of weeks, not months, that this baby could arrive.

It's so much different the second time around. I was so, so ready just to have Charlotte. I wanted to meet her, hold her, start our new life with her. This time, I am not rushing it. I know how crazy life can be with a newborn. Holy moly, I will need to get used to not sleeping anymore. I wonder if I'll completely lose my cool or if I'll handle it with grace. Charlotte has been a tad difficult the last couple of weeks, throwing hard objects at me, having tantrums, and taking short naps, and I hope she snaps out of it.

I'm at the point where people assume I'm a lot more pregnant than I am because they forget how giant you actually get at the end. Or, they have no idea how giant I actually get at the end.
I can no longer stand on one foot which means putting on pants is quite a shit show. It involves a lot of leaning, sitting, and breath holding, accompanied by nausea. My mail delivery lady stopped me this week while I was walking with Charlotte and Darby to ask excitedly "Are you in labor?" I laughed and told her that I've got a ways to go, sister. (so please don't ask that again for a long time.)

I got a massage today, and though the massage therapist knew how far along I am, she saw me and said "oh wow. You're way more pregnant than I thought you were." I am not nearly as easily offended as I was with my first pregnancy. I have a better sense of humor , and a better understanding of the things to come.
I do admit that it's been much easier this time around, and I'm sure part of it is due to the understanding of what's going on. But also, I'm not working, I'm far less stressed, and overall I just feel a little better. But that's all fading quickly with the ever present braxton hicks, pelvic girdle pain, and the legitimate medical condition known as lightning crotch. Or, crotch zingers as they are sometimes called. Google it. I dare you.

Right now, my family is rolling their eyes thinking that I share way too much, but come on. If you don't have a friend who will tell you about crotch zingers, you don't have any real friends. That's what I'm here for.

We still have a lot of work to do before the baby comes. The nursery needs to be finished (basically, cleaned out), but we have to wait until the basement is completed to move the rest of the crap down there. Hopefully the basement will be done in a couple of weeks. A lot of various steps have been started, it's just a matter of completing them. I won't be doing that.

I've taken a couple of days to stock the freezer with some pre-prepped meals to hopefully make life a little easier in the upcoming months. What I haven't done yet is moved the oven to clean behind it in a nesting frenzy. We'll see if that strikes me anytime soon.

That's basically the update for now. I don't have any pictures because I only take pictures of my dog and my kid doing the same things as they did in the last picture I took.


peace out my homies.