Back to School....for now

Wednesday was the first day of school. I had a week to prepare my classroom and lessons but that is never enough time to get it all done. Kary helped me a ton and put together new bookcases and helped me clean and move all the heavy stuff. The room looks pretty good. My bulletin boards are kind of bare but I will be filling them next week with student work. Open House went really well. The parents were happy to meet me and I got nothing but positive comments about being pregnant. Most were excited and I even heard a few moms call me cute and say they liked me as they left.
I was actually pretty nervous the first day. Mostly because I was worried I'd have breathing or heart issues. Luckily, the day went awesome. I felt good, energetic and had the kids loving me within the first 15 minutes. I have a good group. They are talkative but so smart :-) It will be weird to leave them for 12 weeks in the hands of someone else, but I'm too excited about the baby to care...haha. After the first day I had giant blisters on my heels which does not help when I am already so uncomfortable. I had to drive home barefoot! Stupid cheap target shoes! Next week I have a full week. But only 22 more school days until my maternity leave! :-) yay!

































my big 35 week belly. Those are not stretch marks...they are sleep lines! I am so lucky to not have gotten any stretch marks at all....thanks palmer's cocoa butter!

svt, getting fat, returning to work...

Pregnant women have many things to worry about throughout pregnancy: Will my baby be healthy? Will I be a good parent? Will I be able to lose the weight? Will I be able to handle labor? Will I be able to afford this baby? How will my life change?...etc. I have been worrying about all these things for the past 8 months. Unfortunately, I also have to worry about my heart beating out of control for hours at a time, and the constant fear of having to gasp for breath after doing just the simplest task on a hot, humid day.
Thursday I had another svt episode. This one was as bad as the one that caused me to be hospitalized, but since we knew what it was this time and how to handle it we got through it without having to call 911. When I say we, I mean Kary and I. He is amazing. I woke him up around 6:50 Thursday morning to let him know it was happening and that I was about to pass out (this happens when my heart rate speeds up drastically) He instantly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. He filled a bowl with ice water and grabbed towels. He soaked them and laid them on my chest and face. He kept me calm and took my heart rate. It was at about 175. I tried to stay calm but it is the most terrifying feeling to gasp for air while you're body shakes uncontrollably from an intense pounding heart beat. I could also feel the baby jumping around. I was told she is not harmed but a mother can't help but worry. I'm sure in my distress she was feeling anxious and scared too. The episode lasted about 1 hour and 35 minutes. Kary called in work and told them he'd be late. He sat with me and was the perfect combination of calm and concerned. I seriously do not know what I would do without him. I finally got a jolt to the heart about 8:25 and it returned to a normal rate. I instantly started crying when that happened...mostly out of relief but also concern. I worried about the baby, my health, and the terrible fear that this is going to continue to happen throughout my pregnancy/ life. I called my OBGYN and he said that my baby is fine and that I should consider seeing a cardiologist. I plan to see one after the baby is born, unless it happens again (I pray it won't!) I also met with my principal and we have an emergency plan in effect in case it happens at work. This helps a little with the anxiety.
Enough of that.....yesterday we had our doctor's appointment. Baby is great. Her heart rate is 135. My blood pressure is excellent and I gained a whopping 5lbs in 2 weeks....gross! I have now gained 34 pounds. My goal was between 25-30 but I guess I will just deal with it.
I returned to work Wednesday. I got lots of compliments about how good I look. Not the rude stuff I was expecting...haha. Kary helped me a ton with my classroom and it looks awesome! I got some new bookcases, brought a super comfy office chair in, and cleaned the place like crazy. It even smells like apple spice. Thank goodness Kary could help me out because I am physically not able to do 1/2 of what I normally do. My friend Loren at work helped me too. I am lucky to have him. He takes care of me when Kary can't be there. I am excited about my 5 weeks of teaching but also apprehensive that my body will not be able to handle it. I am hoping my asthma, svt, and body aches and pains will not hinder me too badly. What a relief it will be when she is born!
Kary and I picked up a few baby items this weekend. We got a contoured changing pad, a changing pad cover and some waterproof crib mattress covers. I think Kary is planning on her exploding A LOT!...which will probably happen...haha. We are sooo excited and we both just really wanna get me healthy and home with my baby. We don't have much more time now. I am ready!
Here is a super cute hat we just had to order after seeing it in a baby magazine. She'll look so cute in it.

Random Update..

This toy rules!

I have started week 33. I am now experiencing braxton hicks contractions, I am not a fan. My back hurts, I have constant indigestion, the weather is too hot and humid, my heart has not been cooperating and I can't breath. Now that I have that out of the way...here are some cuter updates.

We think we found the outfit we want to bring her home from the hospital in..it has monkeys and we love it. It comes with a bodysuit, bib, and hat. We'll have to put warm socks on her.

We also found an adorable owl outfit. "Hoo Loves You?" I love it!

Kary's brother picked up a pink glow in the dark skeleton pajama set. We can't wait until she's big enough to wear it!

I used to always look at the "mommy-to-be" parking signs and get sad when we were trying for a baby. Today I really realized why they are there. No longer do we park there so I can look cute coming out of the car all preggers. We park there now because it is 95 degrees and I can barely haul my big ass out of the car, let alone walk across an entire parking lot. Plus I always have to head straight to the bathroom with EVERY store we go in! October 4th cannot come soon enough!

"Relax the Baby Momma Day"!

Saturday, August 14th was a special day in honor of me and baby girl. Since I really don't have many girlfriends around here I opted to have a spa day with Lynn rather than a shower. She made sure to make the day super special and I loved it. I unfortunately woke up not feeling great and while in a rush I developed an SVT episode. My heart was at about 120. I rested for a while hoping I would not have to cancel. Luckily, as Lynn was on her way to pick me up I started to feel better. We were in a bit of a rush to the massage place but we made it. "Mary" took me in right away for my prenatal massage. I have never had a profession massage and was both excited and kinda creeped out. There is something very awkward about a large woman rubbing you down with oil. She also smelled slightly like fried chicken. She had me lie on my side and did all kinds of techniques to trigger the annoying aches and pains associated with pregnancy. It did not hurt at all. It felt great but was weird at the same time. I have never felt the baby kick as much and as hard as she was while I was being massaged. It was kind of funny. Lynn had a man massage her and we laughed about his "technique" on the way to the restaurant. Lynn suggested mediterranean food: Kabob Grill, which I never really had. We got veggie platters. Mine looked sort of like this. It was good. :-)




I then opened presents and ate a delicious girly cupcake Lynn got from a very delicious bakery. The cupcakes were awesome (I ate 2) They had strawberry frosting, yellow cake and a cute little purple sugar onesie stuck in the top. She got me awesome stuff: car seat mirror formula pitcher, washcloths, growth chart (goes perfect with our theme), a bumbo, baby shampoo and body wash, and a vibrating teether. She was very generous as always!! I was so grateful that she planned all this for me. We have been best friends for about 14 years and I would not want to celebrate with any other girl :-) I am pissed we didn't get any pictures of us together. We really need to take more. I am now very relaxed...thanks to my BFF!

8 more weeks!

Friday was our biweekly appointment. I was worried about my weight because I have already hit the 30lb mark and most books say you will gain a pound a week from 32 weeks on. So I was not looking forward to hitting about 40lbs at the end of the pregnancy. I was mostly worried due to the fact that Kary's mom bought me an ENTIRE cheesecake and 5lbs of licorice! I have been pretty responsible with both and working out every day but still scary. To my surprise I actually lost 1 pound. We met yet another doctor, Dr. Finlon. He was very cool. He took the time to answer our silly questions about late babies and how active she is. Her heart rate was at 142 this week. It slows down a few beats each visit. I received a flier about some bacteria they need to check for at 36 weeks. Then I start going every week. So, I have 2 more biweekly appointments, then I switch to weekly...crazy! I start back to work a week from Wednesday but I am actually looking forward to getting back, putting my 6 weeks in and then on to motherhood! I am also very excited for next Saturday Aug. 14th...my best friend Lynn has planned a special relaxing day with a prenatal massage and lunch :-) My body sure needs it! My baby is now about 4lbs and about 16 inches long and I can surely feel her size...yikes!

tick tock.....drip drop!

ok...so this post is weird and gross but I must document this! Sleeping has been such an issue the past month. I seriously wake up every two hours to pee. Luckily the toilet is a few feet away. That does not make it any easier, however. What's weird is I wake up almost every time at 35 after the hour. It starts about 1:35...then 3:35...then 5:35...and so on. Getting out of bed is ridiculous and I have to do a 6 point roll to get up. I always wake up Kary. Most books say this pee thing is from the baby on my bladder, of course, but it's also to prepare me to wake up frequently. I guess I should not complain and be happy it's only a 1 minute pee and not a 45 minute feeding. Anyways, had to vent about the sleep issue. Only about 8 1/2 weeks to go!

p.s. I also always see the time 11:11 on the clock. Since the baby was conceived on the 11th month, it's kind of our lucky number. I wish for a healthy baby every time I see this time. That would be funny if she was born on the 11th...well not really because I'd be a week late and Kary would be pissed...he's stressing over not getting to spend enough time with her during his 2 week vacation. That's all for now....gotta pee..

31 down....9 to go!

9 weeks seems like a long time but compared to the 31 I've already gone through~ it doesn't sound like much. We're down to single digit weeks and I have been keeping track on the chalkboard chef in our kitchen. We are getting really excited and things are really starting to come together. Her bedroom is almost completely done. We just need to get the glider rocker and wash her clothes. Kary's parents got us a changing table and we decided we don't need a dresser at this time. We have all her clothes hung up and can get a dresser as she gets older. Kary's dad picked out (and bought) awesome baskets that look really nice on the changing table shelves. Kary and I organized all her receiving blankets, burp cloths, socks, washcloths, and towels and put them in the baskets. Kary also practiced swaddling the baby like a burrito. He actually had to show me..haha. It is such a relief to be so on top of things. There are only a few more items we "need" and Kary's family has been purchasing some things for our "shower." Basically they live all over so they are just sending us stuff...sweet! No real shower.
As far as my health goes, I have been feeling pretty good. I have been able to do my wii active almost every day. I work on my arms, butt, and thighs mostly. I do lots of squats and lunges. I can't help the growing of these parts but I can take charge of the firmness. I now have the weird brown line from my belly button to my waist. Not sure what the purpose is, but apparently most preggos get it. The baby has been nuts lately. There was about a 5 day stretch where she was kicking uncontrollably all hours of the day and night. It was exciting and funny but also painful. She has been pretty chill today. Probably because I have been running around and cleaning. My back has been killing me! lower and upper! Luckily I have a husband that is quite talented with massages and even has some awesome oil from the salon he works at.
The dogs have been really interested in the baby room. Brooklyn loves to go in there and lay next to her crib. (the picture at the top) I think he will be a very protective, sweet big brother ;-) Brixton is afraid of everything. She will most likely be terrified and hide in the corner for a few weeks after baby arrives.