29 Weeks

As you can see from the pictures this week, we finally installed outlet covers in the nursery and have made real progress in regards to hanging the knick-knacks we've acquired for Milo's room. Our theme is Adventureland (from Disneyland, of course!), and while we were originally going for the jungle/Amazon aspect, I've shifted gears a little bit to make it just generally about adventure. I think that's a good theme for a boy! We have our poster of Adventureland (not pictured), two Adventure of Mister Toad posters, and a handmade sign from Etsy with a Dr. Seuss quote from "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" It's really coming together. There's only a few things left to do, like buy the curtains and bedskirt for the twin bed we have in the room as well as some plastic storage drawers for his toys and clothes. I definitely love working on the room and imagining our little guy in it!

I'm feeling pretty good this week, and finally have my appetite back. I lost some weight when I couldn't keep food down for a couple days, but I have a feeling the pounds will make an appearance again shortly. This week in How Pregnancy is Kicking Veralynn's Tush, we have a possible pregnancy-related liver problem called Cholestasis that I'll hear back about early next week. Hopefully I don't have it, but if I do then it's a serious situation where Miles has to be born no later than 36 or 37 weeks tops and I will have to be monitored very closely until then. So! I may have a November baby, but I care not one little bit as long as he is healthy.

My grandparents from Nashville are about an hour and a half away from arriving today, and I couldn't be more excited! They've had some very scary travels while driving across the country in their RV the last few days (blown out tires, brakes stopped working!), so we're all breathing a sigh of relief that they're close. I may try to guilt them into staying in California since in my opinion it's just too risky to drive that RV all the way back to Tennessee. Just saying!

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~VP~

28 Weeks

I can't seem to have a normal, uneventful week in my last trimester, it seems! This week I had to go to the hospital for dehydration due to what my doctor thinks is a bout of gastroenteritis (I didn't know what that was until now...to be honest, I would've been okay not knowing). I felt at the lowest of lows- Miles was a busy little one, kicking away, so I knew he was fine- and I've never felt more thirsty or gross. Parker didn't get home from work until three in the morning, but when he saw me insisted that we take a trip to the hospital, where they hooked me up to an IV and some anti-nausea medication and I started feeling more like myself. They also had me attached to a fetal monitor to make sure the baby was doing okay, and discovered that he likes to play hide-and-go-seek! I can't even remember the number of times the nurse came in to readjust the monitor because Milo had moved a completely opposite direction to where he had just been (eventually, they gave up on him staying put because even though they couldn't consistently find his heartbeat, he was kicking quite loudly on the monitor- silly baby). I felt so bad that Parker couldn't get comfortable or any kind of good rest, but he was taking such good care of us. The hospital wound up discharging me in the morning with instructions to just drink liquids and a bland diet until I gradually feel like my normal self again. I'm still not feeling 100% better, but hope that I will soon since my grandparents are coming from Nashville and will be here in less than a week!

Sorry for my lack of picture this week- I don't know how many people would keep reading my blog if I were to post a picture right now! I might add one later.

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~VP~

27 weeks

Ignore the outlets...I promise we will babyproof them!

Today I am 27 weeks pregnant! Or, as I would like to think, 13 weeks away from meeting little Miles Henry (me being optimistic!). This week did have some eventful happenings that left me with a knot on my forehead and a bruise on my "assets", as I heard someone say last week. You may be wondering what the heck happened- well, I fainted at the bank. Can I just say something? I've read in books about "fainting couches" for ladies back in the days of corsets and three-foot high hairstyles, and these books always make it seem somewhat glamorous and ladylike. But there is nothing glamorous about fainting onto hard tile at a bank. And I felt anything but ladylike waking up sprawled on the ground with the entire bank staff standing over me! Thankfully I didn't land on my belly (and thankfully I wasn't wearing a skirt), but I was still dazed and confused as I looked up at these unfamiliar faces and said, "...Hey guys! So...um...what happened?" Apparently I was in the middle of giving the poor customer service guy my account number when I just fell over. How embarrassing! And banks always have tons of security cameras. I better not end up on America's Funniest Videos or something.

Anyway, Parker came and picked me up from the bank and took me home, where I called Dr. K to see if I should come in right then, go to the Emergency Room, or what. He had us go in this morning, and said he says that Miles/my uterus is squishing my veins, cutting off circulation to my heart- no biggie or anything. So now I'm not allowed to stand for long periods of time or wait in lines (yay!) and if I start feeling woozy, I'm supposed to sit down wherever I am...in the middle of Target, at the gas station pump...I can't help but giggle. Milo is doing great, which is all I care about, and being a little troublemaker. I wonder where he gets that from?

Other than that, we're all doing well. We took our hospital tour today, which was fun. It was crazy to think that the hospital is where we're going to meet our baby! I'm very excited.

And, as you can see, my stomach is getting bigger. I would be okay with it not getting any bigger than this, but I will just have to suck it up (not literally- I can't)!

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~VP~

Things That Go Boom in the Night

Early this morning as I dozed from half-asleep to half-awake, I noticed what I assumed to be our neighbors rolling out their garbage cans for Trash Day. Then I thought I heard Parker rolling our garbage cans to the curb. I thought, "Did everyone forget to put the cans out this week? Sheesh." In my drunken half-sleep, I didn't realize that (a) it wasn't Trash Day, and (b) we were having a thunder and lightning storm (obviously that doesn't happen around here very much if I get thunder confused with garbage cans)! Parker and I let the dogs into the house, and we stood outside for a minute watching a sudden downpour of rain in our backyard. He teased me as I got startled every time lightning flashed outside our window (normally I love watching lightning but I was still drowsy!), and I enjoyed feeling Milo's reactions to hearing the thunder. He woke up and started moving around like crazy, and when the thunder would start he would become very still. As soon as the thunder stopped, he got back to wriggling and getting all wound up. I couldn't help but think of how fun it will be when he's a little boy who comes running into our room during a storm to cuddle up next to us... Sigh. I'm turning into such a mama.

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~VP~

26 Weeks

I've decided that in my last trimester of pregnancy I will do weekly posts (I know, some people say the third trimester starts at 27 weeks, but you know I'm impatient). There will probably be belly pictures, such as the one here, for your entertainment.

Right now I am just starting to get to the point where I understand what some ladies mean when they say the last trimester is just plain uncomfortable- admittedly, I'm a little worried since I have about three months left 'til Miles makes his grand appearance. But starting this week, I've:

• Been waking up every hour, on the hour (is this my body preparing me to wake up during the night with the little guy? Who knows.) 

• I've started the whole, "Oh, my aching back!" spiel, and enjoyed not having an aching back after my visit to the chiropractor, who called me a "hard-headed bohemian" (Parker and I have decided that this is a pretty accurate description of me) for not coming in sooner. He also described to me what exactly my body is doing to prepare for the baby's birth...whoa...and how that will explain any discomfort I feel from here on out. 

• For the first time, maybe ever, I've actually felt like cleaning, and took advantage of that feeling while dusting, arranging, and sweeping away to my heart's content. This is what I imagine nesting must feel like.

Also, Parker did an amazing job of painting the baby's room and assembling the crib and mobile. I enjoyed getting the crib bedding set up and putting Milo's books and toys on a little shelf between the crib and the bed in his room. I can't wait to see the end result, with our little guy living comfortably in it!

Off to prenatal yoga!
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~VP~

Goodbye, Feet!

The other day I had an eye-opening moment; glancing down at my baby bump, I realized that I could no longer see my feet. It was a little scary (can my belly really stretch like that?) but a whole lot more exciting because I felt like I was never going to reach that moment where I was sporting a bona fide Bump. And now here we are, only fifteen weeks away from meeting our little son. I'll admit, I'm still a bit worried about how my stomach will actually grow to accommodate this bebe, but I am 100% ecstatic and confident about giving birth. The day Milo will be born is filled with more anticipation for me than Christmas (sorry, honey) and my birthday combined (and I love my birthday!). I can't wait to meet him.

In the meantime, I've been studying up on everything related to birth and babies. I never thought I'd be so interested! From nursery decor (you can see some of what I'm planning on Pinterest) and baby gear to breastfeeding and the idea of how to introduce solid foods later next year, I am covering all my bases just in case I'm so in love with Miles (and sleep) at that point that I have no desire to read.

So, here I am at 25 weeks, and loving it. I can see Milo's kicks from the outside now which is super crazy, and feel them even more on the inside. In two weeks I'll begin the third trimester, which I'm also calling the Final Countdown. My baby shower is in a little over a month, and I'm so excited to have family and friends together to celebrate Miles! I'm really looking forward to being pregnant during fall and wintertime, my favorite seasons, and I plan on enjoying many a pumpkin scone under the guise of a pregnancy craving (you must know this is a joke, as I have consumed just as many of these scones in non-pregnant years!). Hopefully all my prenatal yoga will balance out the scone intake...but I doubt it.

Until next time!
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~VP~