Monday, March 31, 2014

Pineapple Retchless: Week 33

Size of Baby: 4+ lbs and 17+ inches

Workouts: 3 Bar Method Classes, 1 Dish hike, and 4 Nana walks.
 
Maternity Clothes: Yes, although I still jam myself into my non maternity Lulu pants and a handful of tops much to the general public's chagrin I'd imagine. 

Movement:Starting the fun movements of knees, elbows, fists across my belly. Scott was able to feel him swimming laps around my left side the other night.

Symptoms: Hip pain. Pregnancy brain. Peeing constantly. Acne. Pretty much a typical third trimester pregnant person. 
 
One new one is that my feet seem to have expanded. They aren't swollen but just generally wider. I had to wear a pair of heels this weekend and it was comical watching me try to jam my foot in the narrow foot bed! 

What I Miss: Not much to report. Kind of looking forward to ditching the Snoogle from bed though...it makes for a bit of a lumpy look when all made up ;-). 

Girl or BoyBoy!
 
Belly button In or Out: Out! 

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Cravings: Pretzels and chocolate chips. I'm an addict. I am not sure how I am going to break this delicious little 9:30pm habit!
 
Best Moment This Week: Family time. We attended a funeral on Saturday and it was a reminder to snuggle my boys extra close and enjoy every moment. 
That lovely little line down the middle is toothpaste. Note to self...clean mirrors this week.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Jicama Retchless: Week 32

No fields this week! Too much other fun stuff to talk about to waste time with innie versus outie belly buttons (it's out...for the record).

This week I had a fantastic visit at my doctor AND we made some serious progress on prepping the house for Cooper's homecoming.

Let's start with the doctor:

Last week I mentioned I was curious as to what position he was in. Turns out, he is all.over.the.place. He apparently has lots of room to swim around right now so his flip flopping is totally normal. At one point during my ultrasound he had his head on my left hand side but wiggled around so he was head down a couple minutes later. They won't check to make sure he is officially head down until 36 weeks. 

During my ultrasound we could also see his little rib cage expanding and contracting and the doctor said that was him practicing his breathing! He was also working on his sucking (another paci loving boy?!). And, let me tell you, those little lips get me every time. Can't wait to give them kisses!

Overall, Coop looks great! No concerns and he is growing right along and doing all the things a baby in a belly should be.

Same news for me. They kept telling me that I am "doing great" and that I am "almost there". Those are the moments that you want to ask your male doctor if he has ever carried a baby for 9 months and how his hips feel! I'm kidding...my doctor is amazing and we did discuss my hip pain. Ultimately, it's normal. My hormones are loosening up my hip joints/muscles to prepare my body for Cooper's exit. Since this is my second pregnancy and I am already carrying lower than I did with Noah, I am just experiencing more discomfort. Things to try...support band, physical therapy. Both of these sound like last resorts! I spoke with another OB friend who recommended a less severe side lying position. I don't suffer from any lightheadedness while laying in any position and so a slight prop behind my back will be more than sufficient as opposed to placing all my weight on my hips at night. So far, it has given me enough relief. It's not completely gone, but I don't wake up and feel like I might fall over from pain.

It was a bit crazy to finish my appointment by scheduling the remainder of my appointments for this pregnancy. Including one on May 29th. I will lose my mind on someone if Cooper is still occupying my uterus on that date!

It's funny, with Noah, the moment I was pregnant I was invested/attached/in love. This time I had a harder time becoming invested in the pregnancy. Of course we were thrilled, I just didn't really have this over the moon feeling, and had my guard up, until we knew he was healthy and got out of the first trimester. That and once we knew he was a boy we had a name for him. With all of his kicking lately this bond has been growing but at my appointment my heart pretty much exploded. I think with Noah I was excited about the idea of having a baby. I had no idea what to expect or how he would take more love than I ever knew that I had to give. With Cooper, I am now officially in love with him. I know what's coming, I am anxious for the baby snuggles and smells. It took me awhile to be in love with Noah the baby, versus Noah the pregnancy. With Coop, I don't think I loved the pregnancy until now and I officially love him!

I am just over the moon about meeting our little man and officially adding him to our family. I don't know how I will have the capacity to love him as much as I do my Noah but I hear your heart grows just a little bit more (I can already feel it stretching)! 

Ok, I lied...we are going to save the Cooper prep recap for another post. This is long and I need to take some pictures of the room to share. Stay tuned...
32 weeks. He sure is pointy! 
32 weeks with Noah. Coop is definitely lower and more pointy. I swear I will have Scott take a picture again one of these days!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Baby Cooper Wish List

We have more than enough stuff for Baby Cooper! Seriously, my organization skills are being pushed to their limits having two boys share a not-so-big room (more on this in my weekly pregnancy update this week). That said, there are a few things we need to refresh, equal out (I can't have one boy with a name sign and not the other!), and a few things I just plain want. So, here is a portion of the current list for what we still need/want for Coop.

Vintage Pearl Charm
I have a necklace with a "Noah" charm and definitely want to get my Cooper charm on its way. 
My Noah charm is the square. Should Coop's be square, too? Or switch it up?

Coming Home Outfit
Decisions, decisions. I have a million outfits picked out and saved across the internet but haven't pulled the trigger on "the one" just yet.  And, the hilarious part is that this is the one and only picture I have of Noah in his. This means two things...don't waste a lot of money & take more pictures this time! With Noah, we were just ready to get out of the hospital and weren't about to hang out for a photoshoot.
He rode with his hands like that forever!
Orbit Kickboard
I guess this is more for Noah than Cooper but we'll be needing a way to transport both of our little guys around town. I think Noah will find this very cool!! 
We could probably go to space after our trip to the mall!
Double Bob
Fact: We have 3 strollers. Fact #2: We use(d) all of them. While three stroller may seem excessive, they each served a specific purpose and have proved worth their investment (Orbit as infants, Maclaren as umbrella, and Bob as jogger). Currently our Bob gets the most time on the road. I use it for hiking the Dish as well as Nana walks almost every evening. It is a beast and a pain to lug around in the car, but I think it is far and away the most comfortable for Noah, has the most storage, and the best ride. I would really like to add a 4th stroller to our cast at some point and have decided the Bob makes the most sense for our active little family.
Sling
I hear baby wearing becomes pretty darn necessary when you have a toddler and an infant. While we already have an Ergo & Bjorn I have heard that they can get hot in the summer months so I would like to try my hand at a sling. I had a Moby Wrap that I was not a fan of so I am thinking the sling might be a better option! 
Snuza Diaper Monitor
I have an extremely high fear of SIDS. Not sure why this one has buried itself into my psyche but it scares the living daylights out of me. With Noah, we used the AngelCare monitor and I felt totally at peace. This time around I found an even more exciting little device! It clips on to their diapers and does the same thing as our monitor. I would LOVE this for the few months when he is in our room and as a double check for when he makes the move to the crib (we will use the AngelCare again). 
Ergo Infant Insert
Again, baby wearing. Noah loved the Ergo but I never invested in the infant insert (I faked it with some blankets). Just preparing for the need to have my hands free for Noah.
Miracle Blanket
I have no first hand experience with this but it is called a miracle blanket and I have heard it lives up to its name. Sold. 
Bedding
A terrible thing happened. PBKids discontinued the bedding I used for Noah (well, the color anyway). What's a girl to do (Scott said he couldn't even comment on my "crisis" and left the room)?! My current solution is to ditch the bedskirt on Noah's bed, keep his bumper, and get matching sheets. That way the existing pieces on two different beds (skirt on Cooper's, bumper on Noah's) pull together and there is a matching middle piece. Not ideal, but I am not very interested in buying two new bedding sets (especially when Noah will be converting to a toddler bed in the next year).
Blue Chevron. Already have one for Noah's bed so I will get a second to match. Chevron is not my favorite though.
Gingham. Now this is a pattern I can get behind! Navy, again.
Navy dots. You see a theme?
Switching it up for some green alligators. Noah loves his sheet with elephants so maybe another critter would be fun?


Pottery Barn Glider
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaant. We currently have my Great Grandma's rocking chair which is a prized possession of mine. However, the minute we visit PBKids and I flop down in one of their gliders it is pretty much heaven on earth. Our rocking chair is wood & bamboo and vertical. Plus, it creaks, as any old piece of furniture does. I have daydreams of curling up in this glider and snuggling the boys. Alas, it is seriously pushing the space constraints of the room and has a hefty price tag so we will stay the course with the rocker. I just can't wait until the boys realize that the high back makes for the best tent maker ever!

Birthstone Rings
We're in the land of daydreaming, right? I might as well share my biggest wish list item. At some point in my life I would like a band with each of my boys birthstones. I would likely wear Scott's as a second wedding band and the boys would probably reside together on my right hand. That said, I could get crazy and wear them all stacked or skip the engagement ring for a day and put them all on my left hand. One day! 



And, there you have it. Those things combined with the exciting items like a mattress, diapers, and pacifiers and we'll be ready to hit the ground running in eight short weeks!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

slack.

I read something by way of a Facebook post recently (apologies for not having the source...) that included the idea that we often need to cut ourselves the slack we would give to our friends. This really resonated with me as a mom, friend, wife, and woman. So often I find myself feeling guilty for letting Noah watch Mighty Machines while I get lunch thrown together, or beat myself up for missing a workout. Yet, if a friend calls and feels guilty for the exact.same.things. I am the first one to say, "You are being ridiculous...it's one day...you are an amazing (wife, mom, friend), and it's ok". It's ok. I don't know where the enormous pressure we put on ourselves comes from but in the past few days I have told myself on a number of occasions..."it's ok". And, guess what, I feel better leaving the guilt behind. I am actually able to focus on the things I did good versus the guilt of what I would have liked to have done better. 

Speaking of the self inflicted guilt, I told Scott the other day that I am actually so happy that we are having another boy and that we won't be raising girls. The amount of pressure that we, as women, put on ourselves is insane. And it starts FAR too early. The amount of background dialogue that runs through my head in any given moment is really unfortunate and I cannot be the only one to experience this. For example, sitting at a lunch enjoying time with a friend and all the while thinking about whether my hair is getting stringy, that zit I covered up this morning is showing, if I should order what I really want or the salad (I have no problem pigging out in front of my husband, but in front of a girlfriend...rarely!), if my tank top is cutting into my "armpit fat". This is ridiculous and it takes away from the time I should be enjoying with the person I am with (because I can assure you I am not remotely aware of any of these things happening to her, nor would I care if it was). Yet, I do believe this is the plight of women. We are constantly judging ourselves and, unfortunately, often one another. However, the self judging and pressure far exceed that which we place on others.  I am trying to let some of this go. To allow myself some room to breathe and enjoy myself and my life without the constant stream of thoughts and criticism running through the back of my mind. You could boil this down to "being present" but I think it is more than that. It is checking the insecurities at the door and embracing some self confidence. It is taking the compliments we receive and believing them versus shooting them down. I am the first one to shrug off a compliment versus saying "thank you" and adding that to my self confidence piggy bank. Instead, I am now going to start saving those pennies and cashing them in when the little negative thought monster starts creeping in. I can assure you I will still have pouty "I feel fat" or "I was a lousy mom" today moments but I am hoping to ease up on the self pressure a bit!

Back to having boys...Don't get me wrong, I know my boys will have their fair share of challenges and self doubt. It will be uncharted for me as I have no brothers nor experience being a boy ;-). Yet, I have to imagine that the insane amount of self introspection that girls experience has to be less for boys. Or maybe I am naive and will be facing a rude awakening as my boys examine their muscles, practice their corner kicks, and gel their hair. 

It all kind of reminds me of the scene in Eat, Pray, Love where they are eating pizza and Elizabeth Gilbert encourages her friend to indulge in the pizza and says, "I have no interest in being obese, I'm just through with the guilt". I think this is a very applicable statement to how I am trying to think lately. I have no interest in letting my parenting rules disappear, or giving up looking nice for a dinner with friends. However, I am going to stop making apologies or worrying (well, worrying less) when things slip or I miss a workout here or there (which is often in favor of spending time with my family...so why feel guilty for that?!). And, by golly (yes, I just used "by golly" on the blog), if I want to indulge in a giant bowl of pasta, I am going to enjoy it, not hate myself the minute I finish it. Make the choice, savor the process, and resume normal habits at the next opportunity.
So, that is hopefully my new lease on life. I hope to be able to continue to cut myself the same slack I so truthfully and easily give to my friends. Or, maybe I am just 31 weeks pregnant, with hips that are making me feel like I'm 80 and looking for excuses to sit on the couch and let Noah watch Cars ;-).

Monday, March 17, 2014

Coconut Retchless: Week 31

Size of Baby: Somewhere between 3 & 4 pounds and 16+ inches long.

Workouts: 3 Bar Method Classes, 1 Dish hike, and 4 Nana walks. Really enjoying my evenings sitting out back with Scott & Noah and finding it hard to motivate to go to class in the evenings. Trying to get back on track with 4 Bar Method classes a week though!

Maternity Clothes: Yes. 

Movement: Definitely becoming a more active guy as the weeks go on. He has been bouncing around all day today! I was reading that with Noah I felt most of his movements below my belly button at this point...with Coop it is almost always near my ribs or on my left hand side. It will be interesting to see where he is parked these days (head up/down?).

Symptoms: Hip pain. It is serious. I only get it if I sit in the same position for an extended period (i.e.-long car rides) or while sleeping. The sleep thing is becoming a problem. I wake up 5 or 6 times a night in excruciating pain. Last night I slept sitting up for 2 hours because I couldn't stand to be on my side. For the record, I have a pregnancy pillow (snoogle) and have even tried adding an additional pillow between my legs...neither gives me any relief. Starting to consider acupuncture if I can't get this under control. 

Sleepiness. I can power through a day when I am busy but if I have the opportunity for a rest (i.e.-most days when Noah is napping) I am finding myself needing about 40 minutes to recharge. I am also ready for bed at about 9pm. But, if I am distracted or out and about I don't truly miss it or become miserable if we are out late. Maybe it is tiredness of convenience?! Whatever it is, I give in because in a couple short months sleep will be an extremely limited resource!

What I Miss: We'll upgrade this to wine tasting! We went to Sonoma over the weekend and I am officially ready to be back in the participants arena versus DD classification! 

Girl or BoyBoy!
 
Belly button In or Out: Depends on how I am sitting/standing/time of day. I can definitely see it started to pop! 

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Cravings: Pretzels and chocolate chips. Even if I'm not really hungry I can't resist this delicious little sweet & salty snack!
Best Moment This Week: The giant increase in movement from Coop. It is so reassuring to feel him jumping around! 


Me and Scott at Gloria on Sunday. Kristina and Scott demanded my bubbles be in the shot as it is seriously what I looked forward to alllllll week! But they also wanted the bump to be on display (demanding, these two!) hence the awkward pose.

This was the first time with a normal pose. Apparently the bump was a bit too discreet (probably good since not everyone shares the same opinions, and our doctor's, on champagne consumption while pregnant)!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Noah News {2 years, 4 months}

It has been quite awhile since I did a post solely on my favorite two year old! While two is dubbed "terrible", Scott and I find ourselves laughing with, and enjoying our little boy constantly. That's not to say that we don't have our fair share of two year old drama, but on the whole, I am loving the 2's! Honestly, the most difficult part is just keeping up with his energy. He is a really good kid 99% of the time and the only truly exhausting part is trying to keep up with whatever sport he is demanding to play or redirecting his zesty energy!


A few funny Noah-isms
"Gad" (sounds exactly like God). He used to call Scott "GaGa" but he has recently made the jump to the more formal, "Gad"

"Fock" We'll spell it like that for the sake of the internets but suffice it to say it sounds exactly like the same word spelled with a "u". He truly is trying to say "fox" and has no idea why Scott and I fall over laughing when he repeats "fock off" (to indicate he would like his fox towel off his head).

Any word ending in -ing. He always adds an extra ending. For example, "hiding" is "hidin-ing".

"Passesgers", aka, passengers. He loves to drive by the train station and see all the people waiting for the train, or even better yet, getting on/off the train. As of late, if there are people walking anywhere in the vicinity of the train station, he squeals with delight that he has spotted a "passesger"! 


Language
This has taken off. I did my best not to worry when we hit two years and he wasn't putting words together yet. Our pediatrician (and every other person on the planet) reassured me that his speaking would catch up and to reevaluate come May if nothing had changed. Well, it changed. Noah is talking up a storm. He is pretty much a parrot for anything we say and watching him concentrate to put sentences together is so cute. While we aren't sitting down for a chat necessarily, he is really getting his point across and there is a lot less frustration on his part now that he can tell us what he wants. Plus, some of the things he comes up with are pure comedy.
"I did it!"

Physicality
Sometimes I wonder if he is 6! I can confidently say that Noah has surpassed all milestones here. This isn't really a surprise given his early walking, but he has just kept going! Sometimes the moves he pulls off are quite impressive. Just the other day he went running across the house, flung himself into the couch, missed the cushion, and somehow managed to roll himself down the couch, back onto his feet and back to running. Not to mention, when he does wipe out, he just jumps up and brushes it off (most of the time).
Running...always running.

Likes
Sports. We try to expose Noah to a lot of different activities yet somehow he always gravitates back to sports. He loves them all and turns just about any object into a golf club, tennis racket, bat, or ball.

Bubbles. Holy obsessed! At least 3 times a day he asks to go outside and play bubbles. He will happily blow bubbles for himself and Nana or grab the bubble gun and go to town. Watching the two of them run around the backyard chasing the bubbles is seriously the best. Pure joy!!

Nana. 98% of the time Nana and Noah are best buddies. As I mentioned, they play bubbles. 
Looking forward to our new soccer class that starts in April!

Independent Play
This has taken off in the past month. He will sit with his trains, planes, or play mats and just work his toys while talking to himself. It is really funny to eavesdrop but if you get caught you get asked to leave and sometimes even have a door closed on you!
Doin' dishes (aka, flooding my kitchen).

Fears
Things that make noises unexpectedly (this could be a toy or a printer), and "bees" which is actually anything that flies (including gnats).
Little boy. Big slide.

Motor Skills
I am not really sure what is appropriate at this age, but he seems pretty adept to me. Obviously his gross motor skills are great, and he will show me the correct way to hold a pen, "hold it down", whenever he draws (Papa taught him this). A funny new trick is that he can now run to the back door, unlock it, open it, and let Nana (or himself) out the dog door. This is great when I need help with Nana, not so great when I don't want him outside. I see a higher door lock being installed sooner than later.
He actually prefers this method of going outside and will opt for the dog door over an open door!!

Challenges
Meal time. My, oh my. One of my goals for the New Year was to get meals confined to the table for Noah (versus a bite here and there while on the go). We are doing really, really well with this. All meals take place at the big table or his little table (there are special occasions but for the most part I am calling it a win). That said, we battle some nights. The amount of 1-2-3s that are counted, desserts threatened to be taken away, ultimatums given about toys, etc. are endless. I try not to force him to eat if he isn't hungry but he also can't eat only macaroni-loni for every meal (seriously, he asks for it for breakfast). So I try to be reasonable while also making sure that he understands that meal times are to be taken seriously and that we sit and eat. It's an ongoing battle but the nights we have argument free dinners are so encouraging!

Other than meals the only time we really battle are when he is hungry or tired. After he gets home from school he is a complete bear. Usually it is because he is hungry AND tired but we go around and around until nap time. Honestly, all pretty typical two-year-old stuff and nothing that a little snooze or snack doesn't correct. 
Because you never know when you might need a helmet and fly swatter on an evening stroll around the neighborhood.

Injuries
Nothing major (i.e.-no urgent care/E.R. visits) other than a quick grab of the stove last week. It was a moment of sheer panic for me when I saw his little hand dart out (after I had warned him 700 times it was hot and to not touch it) and the panic that swept across his face as the pain set in was heart breaking. Luckily, we got cold water and cold compresses on it immediately and after a rough morning of tender fingers he pretty much moved on without a second thought. The silver lining...he definitely learned his lesson and won't be touching the stove again!
My favorite hiking buddy (well, as long as Kristina, my other favorite, is there to push him up all the hills)!

School:
Noah goes to school every Tuesday and Thursday from 9-12. With the exception of a couple of weeks after the holidays he ADORES school. He gives me a hug and a kiss goodbye and doesn't even look back. I hear about "Teacher Mindy", "Oo, Ah, Sean", and his "art" every day when I pick him up. Each of those have stories but I will spare you the details. It is a great break for me to recharge, get a workout in, clean up, run errands, etc. and it is wonderful to know that Noah is learning and having a blast during our time apart. 
I sure do love getting my boy back at noon, though!
 
The big ones: sleep, pacifier, potty training:
Hotel beds are oh so snuggly!
Sleep - Noah is a fantastic sleeper (hopefully this doesn't curse me for Cooper). He takes a 2-3 hour nap every day at about 1:30pm and goes down for the night at 8pm. He wakes for the day anywhere between 6 and 8 depending on the day. I would say 7 is pretty reliable. He is a trooper when we push his bedtime so we can stay out a bit later with friends and will even blow through a day without a nap without being too much of a bear. One day without a nap is about the limit though or we will start to pay for it! He is still in his crib and has never climbed out, nor showed any desire to try. So, we will stay the course until there is some kind of sign that he is ready for a big boy bed. If it ain't broke...don't fix it!

Pacifier - Paci is still kicking around for naps and bedtime. He is extremely attached to paci for sleep and I dread the day we have to take it away. I was told that at 3 it begins to effect their teeth (and have heard reports of dentists saying earlier) but with Cooper's pending arrival it is just not a battle I want to face. My gut says we will ditch paci around his third birthday. 

Potty training - We have had a potty for months and have a few potty books around but we have had zero incidents of any action actually happening on the potty! He is definitely taking an interest in his potty books and it is becoming extremely clear when he is going to the bathroom (he hides in corners and will often tell you "poo poo", or just dismiss you with a "bye, mama"). That said, this is kind of like the crib thing...I don't want to force it. I don't want potty training to be a forced battle and something that we push before he is ready. I, again, see this happening around his birthday.
We always end the day on a happy note and sometimes it is just so hard to lay him in his crib and say goodnight. Those last snuggles after the lights go out are the absolute best.

I have had this post written in bits and pieces for a couple weeks now and I just haven't hit publish because I feel like this is such a small picture of what Noah is up to right now! I want to include every little detail, or, better yet, just bottle him up so that I can always flash back to this time. But, alas, this is what I have come up with. An extremely small glimpse into Noah's world at 2 years and 4 months. 



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Cabbage Retchless: Week 30

Size of Baby: 3 lbs, 15.7 inches long.

Workouts: 4 Bar Method classes and 4 Nana walks. We had a busy week and a very fun doggy play date on Sunday so Nana didn't get leashed up as much as normal. I am also thrilled to see a sunset time of 7:10 tonight as it will be SO much easier to make use of our evening time for Noah AND Nana. I felt like I was racing the clock to get her out for walks and make sure Noah had a good afternoon of playing before the sun went down.

Maternity Clothes: Yep. Finally got to break out a maxi dress over the weekend (is it just me, or does "maxi dress: make anyone else think of maxi pads?! not a huge fan of the name of this particular clothing item)!! 

Movement: Bouncing around. I have been able to see a few kicks and punches from the outside recently, too! Also, in a hilarious late night snack moment I found myself on the couch with a bag of pretzels and a tub of Betty Crocker Frosting (it was hot pink which made it even more hilarious)...the sugar made Coop go crazy for a good 5 minutes!

Symptoms: I am not sure if this is age, pregnancy, or the zillion vitamins I take but my hair pretty much doesn't get greasy any more. I used to have to have to wash it every other day or it was not acceptable to be seen in public. Now, I literally lose count and just wash it when I feel so compelled to do so! 

Pregnancy brain. This week is a spirit week of sorts for Noah at school and each day has a color theme. It is on the calendar and yet I still showed up for "blue day" with Noah in a green shirt! Also, when I got home, I noticed that I had "red day" on the calendar for today which was actually yesterday. WOW! One other example...last night I went out for salmon and lettuce...forgot the lettuce. It's getting back folks. 

What I Miss: Wine. Still.

Girl or BoyBoy!
 
Belly button In or Out: Depends on how I am sitting/standing/time of day. I can definitely see it started to pop! 

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Cravings: Nothing to report. 

Best Moment This Week: Probably just the amount of awareness Noah is gaining about Cooper. He will randomly pull up my shirt and give Cooper a kiss and snuggle. Also, whenever he hides and we play the, "Dad, have you seen Noah...Nana, have you seen Noah?" game, he always calls out, "Cooper" and we have to say, "Cooper, have you seen Noah?!". It makes me smile each and every time!
This picture is blurry due to the fact I was trying to hide the smattering of dirty clothes on the bed ;-)


Monday, March 3, 2014

Butternut Squash Retchless: Week 29

**I'm keeping the format for the weekly updates to include the fruit/veggie comparison in the title even though we all know his name is Cooper!  

Size of Baby: 2.5 lbs, 15+ inches long.

Workouts: 4 Bar Method classes and 6 Nana walks. I feel it is also fair to mention that I am officially taking half classes at Bar Method now. I stay through seat work but leave before we get into ab work. There are a lot of modifications that would enable me to stay for a whole class, but I find them to be cumbersome and just choose to put all my energy in to the first part of class.

Maternity Clothes: Yep. 

Movement: He has been fairly quiet this week. Of course this always makes me nervous but eventually he starts wiggling again. I think I was able to get Noah to feel him this week because at one point Noah pulled his hand off my belly and seemed a little freaked out! 

Symptoms: Shortness of breath. I don't get our of breath from exercise but I find myself struggling to breathe when I read Noah stories in the rocking chair or sit in an uncomfortable position for too long (mostly anything that forces me to be perfectly vertical). Apparently this is all diaphragm related (not to mention my allergies are out of control) but it tends to make me anxious when it happens and I have to take a few minutes to relax and get it under control.

I also had a crazy racing heart rate at dinner this week. I wasn't anxious, no sweaty palms, shortness of breath, or shaky hands but my heart started beating insanely fast while Scott and I were at dinner. I went to take a walk outside and the minute I stood up it went back to normal. It was really bizarre and hasn't happened since but I will definitely ask the doctor about it!

What I Miss: Wine. Still.

Girl or BoyBoy!
 
Belly button In or Out: Depends on how I am sitting/standing/time of day. I can definitely see it started to pop! 

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Cravings: Nothing to report. 
Best Moment This Week: Date night. Scott and I went on our first date since November this past Friday. We dine out a lot, we just tend to do it with Noah in tow. It was a little odd to be driving in the car together without hearing Noah chirping in the back seat! It was such a wonderful evening and hopefully we can sneak in a couple more before Cooper arrives. 

Randoms:
1. Cooper's lovey arrived! Noah has "bear" and we got "dog" for Cooper. When I opened it and told Noah it was for Cooper and he could give it to him when he got here he immediately put it on my belly. He also gave it a million snuggles to break it in. I have a feeling these two are going to make my heart explode.
 
Noah's bear is in the center and dog is on the right (no need for a pink bunny around here!). All of our bears have had the noses removed and the same operation will come to dog before Cooper's arrival.



2. Noah has started talking about Baby Cooper more. Whenever we get near my doctor's office he starts saying "Baby Cooper" or "see Baby Cooper". I guess dragging him to all my appointments is paying off. 

3. I guess this could go under symptoms but I am not resigned to eating smaller meals no matter how hungry I am. Cooper is not leaving room for big meals to share his space any more! Big meal=at least an hour of being extremely uncomfortable. 
I need to get back to having Scott take these! But, I do enjoy the little monkey in the background!