Category Archives: Pregnancy

Sorry I’m a day late on my update! I think I’m actually going to switch to posting them on Tuesdays because Sundays have become impossible to get pictures done.  I’m so tired, I go to sleep after church, then I have flat hair and puffy eyes.  Dennis is working an earlier shift again so he can take pics after he gets off on Monday (my other day off), though there’s barely any daylight left.  I’ll take low-light grainy photos over ones like this. LOL!

As my belly grows ever bigger, people are anxious to know when Joshua is coming.  Last Wednesday my answer was “6 1/2 weeks.  Not that I’m counting.” :)

I’ve gotten the “gathering nuts for winter” cheeks that Moms get in their last trimester, and it’s not like my cheeks needed any filling in. I already had that look, and now my double chin can not be hidden.  It’s taken on a life of its own and introduces itself before the rest of my face has a chance to.  You can’t tell much of a difference in these photos since Dennis is kind and takes them at an angle that minimizes it, but believe me it’s now an entity in itself! lol

Also, for the last week or so my inner thighs feel like I’m doing 36,000 squeezes with a thigh master every day.  I’m not sure if it’s really sore muscles or my pelvis is all out of whack–all I know is I now look and feel like a cripple every time I get up and try to walk.  As we went through Walmart last night, I told Dennis I need to track down a used wheelchair so he can push me through stores.  ;) During our nightly walk with Jessie, I had to sit down twice, which I’ve never had to do before.  I jokingly told Dennis to just leave me and bring the car back to pick me up, but I thought several times I really wouldn’t make it home.  But I know it’s good for me so I’m trying to keep going.  It just seems like soon it may be impossible.

Everything seems so hard now.  I really wish I had someone to help me put on my socks when I get ready for work.

Last week I didn’t get enough sleep because I was doing so much to prepare for my baby shower every night after work (I know, I brought it on myself by getting involved when I didn’t have to. My sisters were throwing it and my take-charge older sister complex kicked into high gear.).  I had to use three coats of concealer on my under eye circles for my shower, and of course when I finally laid down to sleep Saturday night, I couldn’t. Kill me now!  Thankfully, last night I slept well, so I think it was just the excitement of the day and I couldn’t unwind.  I didn’t take any photos of the shower myself, so I will share some as soon as I get them from the photographer, a girl I used to work with.  It was wonderful, and it deserves a post all to itself.  My sisters and I make a great team, if I do say so myself. :)

I got this dress at Target when I was barely showing because it was on clearance from last winter’s leftovers.  I love it and am so glad it’s cold enough to wear it now. It also works great with my witch hat and cape – easy Halloween costume. :)

For that last photo, I put my cape and hat on Dennis so they wouldn’t get dirty, then told him I had to take a photo.

Love his “why do you torture me?” face! He’s such a good sport.  He has to be with a wife like me!  :)

I was just telling a friend last week that I rarely get sick…then I got sick.  Happens every time!  Mr. Snotty Pants sat next to me at work during the last two hours on Wednesday, blowing his nose the whole time (seriously, he hardly typed at all because he was blowing his nose so often!), and I stubbornly refused to move because I was comfortable and there were only two hours left.  (You choose your own seat where I work, and there are hundreds to choose from, so I was a little miffed he didn’t choose a seat that didn’t have anyone else around…there were plenty.)  But *cringe* I hated hearing that constant blowing into Kleenex’s.  And I felt feverish by the time I left work.

I worked Thursday and I thought I was fine, but woke up Friday feeling feverish again, and with a sore throat and my entire body hurt.  Especially my hips – it was hard to walk.  I called in sick, and didn’t work Saturday either, feeling even weaker and more feverish.  (I don’t know if I had a fever because my thermometer kept saying my temp was only 97 degrees…I think it may be broken).  I didn’t go to church on Sunday and I didn’t want to get out of my PJ’s for my weekly pictures so I apologize for being in them again – I just didn’t feel good enough to try to put on a pretty face for you this week – lol.

I have a lot to do this week in preparation for my baby shower (I know I’m weird, but I couldn’t help getting involved! Control freak, much?) so I’m praying I feel great when I wake up on Monday (I’m writing this Sunday).  I don’t have any more days I can spare to do nothing!

I may be down with the sickness, but my belly button sure is perky! lol

Oh and I have a Daddy update for you – Dennis did Via Christi’s Boot Camp for New Dads. I didn’t get a pic of him with his certificate yet so I’ll share that next week.  I’m so glad he did that – I know it will help him a lot! Three veteran Dads who’ve done the class and now have their babies come to the class with them in tow so the soon-to-be Dads can ask questions and observe how to handle a baby, while the pros teach them how to diffuse stress, help mom, form a family bond, survive a crying baby, etc.  We are both doing the Happiest Baby on the Block class in November to learn how to calm a crying baby.

33 weeks down, 7 to go.

I was taking my Sunday nap and just couldn’t get motivated to pretty myself up for the mandatory photos, so I rolled out of bed in my PJ’s and fluffy blue socks, and went straight into photo shoot mode so I could go back to bed as quickly as possible.  Sleep trumps trying to look good!

OK, so maybe I was trying to look even worse than I had to – lol.

So I got my first weird craving.  We’ve all heard of pickles and ice cream (does anyone ever really crave that combo?), but since I don’t really like ice cream and haven’t liked sweet stuff, period, for most of my pregnancy, that never happened.  But last week I suddenly had to have slices of cheddar cheese dipped in salsa.  It was so good! lol  OK, I guess another weird thing I really like is potato chunks boiled in salted water, then tossed with some vinegar (I discovered this from making American Potato Salad – the first and second time I made it I could hardly resist eating all the potato chunks before finishing the recipe).  Oh man.

Last week we toured Wesley’s birthing center, which is separate from the hospital, and also the birthing floor inside the hospital since I’m high risk and will likely be delivering there instead.  A slow anxiety has been growing in me about the upcoming D-day (delivery day, lol), but touring the place I will be delivering helped a lot.  Being familiar with my surroundings will help put me at ease more than going into this with everything being new.  They also do everything they can to accommodate your wishes during the birthing experience, and it was relieving to know that, despite not really knowing what I want yet.

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Remember the cards we get from our “son” each month?  I don’t want to say who really sends them because she reads this blog and I’m playing along, but I just got month 7 and get choked up every time I read it.  Favorite so far, though others have made me cry too. :)  I just can’t believe after so many years of waiting, we only have two more months to go before we can hold our baby.  It’s getting so real now.  I’m excited, nervous, anxious, terrified.  I don’t want D-day to come too soon, but man it’s going to be awesome when it does. :)

We started outside for this week’s pics, but even in the shade I couldn’t help squinting (this is as close to not squinting as I could get – lol) so this effort didn’t last long.

No, I didn’t just suddenly grow an ego the size of my belly.  I’m literally hot, and have been my entire pregnancy. I sweat while people around me seem fine.  I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if I was 9 months pregnant during the summer – props to the women who have to go through that.  I just hope the cooler fall weather isn’t delayed this year because I’m really just done with all the sweating.

This banner was given to me by some friends at church so I had to show it off. It’s hand made and so cute!

In addition to being hotter than all y’all, I’m also having twins.  Or so everyone seems to think.  I kid you not, three people asked me in the last week if I’m sure I’m not having twins.  Really?  I actually don’t personally take offense to this question because I know and admit that I’m huge and have no problem with it (right now, anyway), but what sane person would ask a hormonal pregnant woman a question that reminds her how enormous she is?  I haven’t had much problem with being emotional, but if I were prone to it like many pregnant women are, I think I’d probably start slapping people when they asked me this to knock some sense into them.  I think pregnant women aren’t the only ones who have side effects from their pregnancies – it seems to make people around them stupid too! LOL!  A friend just sent me a link to 28 things you should never say to a pregnant woman, and it has suggestions for what to say instead. Very helpful and a quick read if you want to check it out.

Jessie joined us in the nursery and I decided we needed a pic with Joshua’s big sister in it! :)

Not much new to report, except that I think Joshua might share his Dad’s fondness for martial arts because I swear he has taken to doing Tai Chi in my belly.  Sometimes he’ll move soooooo slooooooow, but with a lot of pressure, and it feels totally weird, and not really in a good way.  I’m already to that point where I need to stretch to give him more room sometimes because it’s uncomfortable.  Scary to think how cramped his quarters will be near the end if I’m already stretching out to give him room!  My Mom said she was so big she couldn’t reach the front of her belly and I’m hoping that’s because she has stumpy arms (she’s even shorter than  me, probably just over 5′) and not because her belly was really that huge.  I mean I’d have to be carrying a baby whale to be so big that I couldn’t reach the front of my belly! lol.

And the swelling/water retention continues.  I can see it in my hand in the above pic – my fingers aren’t usually so plump, and I’ve had to switch to a ring I used to wear on my middle finger for my wedding ring because it’s too tight.  And before you ask, my blood pressure is still OK, thankfully.  Last week it was 116/68, which is higher than the last visit, but about what it was at my very first visit.  Brace yourself or scroll quickly downward with your eyes closed because I’m going to show you how bad my feet can get and it ain’t pretty (the indentations are from sandals I wore all day that are usually really loose on me).

Sorry.  Hope you don’t mind me keepin’ it real.  It doesn’t cause any pain, just ugly to look at.  My feet do tire easily, but I have a wonderful man that will rub them any time I ask, and that helps so much.  God bless him!  <3  And just to leave you with something cute, here’s a random picture I took of a smiling Jessie girl, which was photo bombed by my belly.

One last thing – I just want to give some love to my friend, Stacy, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease a few months ago, along with her youngest son (though the other two also show symptoms as well).  She has apparently lived with it most her life and just thought that the migraines and pain were her normal, only to find out much later that there’s a reason for her and her son’s multiple problems.  The treatment, however, has been tricky, and a lot of trial and error has gone into finding things that work without taking away her ability to function as a human being.  She has a blog, DoingLifeWithLyme, where you can follow her journey to recovery if you have a personal interest in Lyme disease and treatments for it.  She is currently using both antibiotics and essential oils and getting really good results with the oils, so if you or anyone you know suffers from this disease, you might want to check it out!