a pain in the butt.

was debating on whether or not to post about my most recent pregnancy drama... but i consider this blog  a nice piece of history to look back on and cherish all the memories... even the painful ones!

i've had another pregnancy symptom over the past week that is probably one of the most embarrassing ones to admit to but heck... i update my weight (okay, maybe not while i am pregnant... i am mortified by that weight gain) so why not update about a hemorrhoid. yes, that little pain in the butt.

you see, it literally came out of nowhere, i didn't even know what it was... i drink plenty of water, eat fiber (thanks to my granola bars, oatmeal, fruits and veggies) have no problem "going"... so why did this little guy rear its ugly face? doctors answered that question on friday... it's the baby. pushing down on all those veins. seriously? so if this little baby would have come a week earlier, i wouldn't have had any pain! i guess hemorrhoids are common in pregnancy... something i didn't know.

monday, it showed up... tucks, hot baths and ice were the main focus of my week. but that little bugger didn't get better. it just got worse. by thursday, i couldn't function and was petrified of what the weekend would bring, so i called my doctor on friday morning hoping she could suggest a STRONGER cream. i told her what was happening and she immediately sent me to the surgeon. so friday at noon, i had my first EVER procedure, WIDE awake, a day before my due date, and with no pain medicine afterwards. i seriously thought i was going to die. all i wanted was a STRONGER cream not surgery!

friday was probably the roughest day i have ever had. and thank god for my mom. tim, of course, was working so if it wasn't for my mom, helping me through the pain, i am not sure i would have made it to today. surgeon told me, as i was leaving the office, "you will have no problem with child birth after what you just went through in here"...

so we have no baby yet. now i am kind of praying that little guy hangs in there until i heal from my procedure from yesterday. but i won't be terribly upset if it decides to make an appearance earlier... :)

Due DATE picture!! (40 Weeks)

Let's guess the weight... i am guessing 10 pounds 3 ounces!!

parking lots.

walking has become more and more difficult as i get bigger and bigger. it has become difficult because of my swollen feet and legs. it has become difficult because of this little baby pushing on my bladder with every step i take. it has becomes more difficult since i am carrying this extra weight and i get winded VERY easily.

i have always been the girl that parks her car a mile away from a store or restaurant in the parking lot. i love the extra walk and i find it easier to get in and out of farther spots with less traffic and people. however, over the past two months, i am the girl stalking people for front parking spots. i am the girl that will drive and drive until i get a front parking spot. i am the girl who CUT off an older gentleman to get a front parking spot at barnes and nobles.

once this baby is born, i will go back to parking and walking to leave those front spots open for those pregnant women who need them.  and those "customers with children" parking... should be "expectant mother parking"... babies r us has it right... i was embarrassed to park in those spots when i first became pregnant... but now I am pulling in those spots with big smiles and relief. thank you babies r us.

Packing a bag.

packing a bag has been one of the hardest tasks for me to get focused on. my family asks me "have you packed a bag yet?" No, not yet! Friends have asked me "is your bag ready to go?" Nope! even my doctor has asked me "is your bag packed?" no, but getting there! which is a complete lie.

you see. i haven't even started it yet. i went to visit a friend of mine back in February two weeks before her baby was due. her little bag was packed and in the corner of the nursery ready to go. lucky for her because her baby came the next day!! you think that would have taught me a lesson. but nope.

tim had an idea. can't i pack my bag in the beginning stages of labor? wouldn't that keep me busy and my mind a little focused? i agreed, told a friend that idea, and they said i would probably forget something important. good point.

so, my plan today is to pack my little bag. this has been my plan every day for the past month. but with work being over and wanting to keep myself  busy, i should really get on it. well... that and figuring out what we are going to name this little person... but that's a whole other blog post.

Any ideas of what to put in my bag other than the basics like pajamas and toothpaste? 

I'm Ready.

"I'm Ready." I never thought i would ever say those words for this baby. i have had a lot of fear. fear of delivering a baby. fear of being a good mom. fear of tim and my life changing. it has been enough fear that i thought i wanted this baby to never come out. but it has probably been the last week when all those feelings of fear have changed to excitement and anxiety.

anxious to meet our baby. excited to see what our little baby will look like. excited to know whether it has been a boy or a girl i have been carrying around for nine months. excited to start our life as a little family.

maybe it was the high blood pressure scare and the trip to the hospital that got me "ready." maybe it is the wrap of work that got me "ready." maybe it is the big belly that takes a little more effort to roll over with at night that has me "ready." whichever the reason, i am now one of those pregnant women anxiously and excitedly waiting for when their little one decides to arrive.

i am okay with not holding my baby in my belly and "ready" to hold my baby in my arms.

38 week check up and a finished nursery!

went for my weekly check up. i have been getting really excited about going to the doctors lately... my appointments have been going great and i get to check in on my little baby and that heart beat.

maybe i was a little too excited at my check up today...i was shocked when i was told that my blood pressure was high. they had me lay on my side for thirty minutes or so... checked the blood pressure, and it was still high. so off they sent me to labor and delivery at the hospital to monitor baby and me.

surprisingly, i wasn't nervous or upset. i just walked myself into the hospital and checked myself in. i got to watch and listen to the baby heart beat for an hour! my blood pressure was perfect for the hour 104/68...way lower than when i was at the doctors 150/110 the hour before! all blood tests came back great and no protein was found. so i was sent home only to check in with the doctor again on thursday. such a crazy day!

we are in the final countdown! what do you think... boy or girl? pick a date... I am thinking Memorial Day weekend but most of my family think some time this week! ha!

ending this blog update with pictures from the nursery. we just finished it over the weekend!

 (I am giving all the credit to Tim and the decals... i just sat in the rocker and directed him where to put them!)

belly update

i am thinking i am going to be having a ten pound baby. this belly just keeps on growing! holy moly!

(37 weeks- full term! )

i've been feeling really good... a little swelling in the hands and feet and super exhausted after a school day but otherwise feeling wonderful and blessed. 

tim and i are getting really excited about meeting this little baby. and adding a new member to our little family... :)

give or take FIVE weeks!

i have really been enjoying these past few weeks of pregnancy. watching my belly get big. watching a little leg or arm push through my belly. feeling the different body parts push against my belly.

however, knowing that in just five weeks this little baby can be here is very overwhelming. simply because the life i have now is going to change greatly. i am expecting a huge adjustment with this little person entering our lives. this little baby isn't just going to be a baby with us. it's going to grow into a child. then a teenager. then an adult. this person will be with me for the rest of my life.

i am both nervous and excited. nervous for all the changes to come especially between tim and my relationship with each other (it's been just the two of us and we love our little life together) but excited to add to our family. to share our love we have with each other to another little life.

baby odgers. i am excited to meet you. to bring you into our family. to love you.

four things.

things i have grown to love since being pregnant.

1. mint chocolate chip ice cream (not the green kind) - heart burn has been the death of me over the past few months and i have figured out that a scoop a day keeps the heart burn away.

2. using three pillows at night- one for my head, one for the legs, and one for the belly. it gets a little snug and tight in bed, especially when you throw in tim and the cat.

3. going horizontal- this is what i do around 5 in the evening after teaching all day. for some reason, walking hurts, standing hurts, even sitting hurts... so i just decide to take my body and lay horizontal. after about an hour of this, i feel like a completely different person... like i could run a marathon!

4. handicapped bathroom stalls- recently i have noticed, that i have had great difficulty getting in and out of a regular size stall. i have the hardest time opening and closing the door without banging some part of my body. however, handicapped stalls are phenomenal. i can move all around in there pretty comfortably and leave without a new bruise.

(33 weeks!! Holy Moly! Almost there!)

 (33 weeks!! Check out the new spectacles! Looking more and more like a Dad every day!)