alien baby

with 10 weeks to go, i think baby here is growing nicely. she has stopped her cute little pokey movements and is now squirming and stretching, which i cannot get used to. it is seriously the weirdest feeling. oh, and did i mention now i feel her constantly, like every minute of every day? including when i'm sleeping?

last few nights have been rough. i've had to sleep propped up with about four pillows to help me breathe. but of course what helps my lungs doesn't help my back, per se, and so it's uncomfortable no matter what. last night i decided to forgo the mountain of pillows and try to sleep on my sides with one pillow like a normal person. my back still hurt like crazy, but every time i would wake up to roll over to the other side, i couldn't fall back asleep due to the dance party going on in my belly. sometimes she digs her feet into my rib cage, which is also not the most pleasant feeling.

it's quite cool to watch her do her "alien" movements - like she's looking for a way outta there.

10 weeks to go, 5 more weeks of work, 2 more weeks until the baby shower.

doctor's appointment

it was quick and painless. the usual - heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.

i passed my gestational diabetes screen with flying colors!

other than trying to eat more iron-rich foods and eating "steadily", not much to report.

appointments are now every 2 weeks!

the nursery

we have three bedrooms upstairs. the "middle room" has served us well as the spare bedroom/guestroom for the past few years. now it has a real purpose in life and a permanent resident.

jesse spent the latter part of august painting. we wanted a somewhat gender neutral color, JUST IN CASE. so "pear" was chosen and although it's a bit brighter than we expected, it looks good.

the crib is set up, the change table is fixed on to the dresser, the closet emptied.

being the cheapos that we are, jesse and i were not happy with the prices of crib bedding. it's like, on average, $200. we went to kacz' kids and saw some for over $400. is that really necessary? goodness. i'm sorry, but i could never justify spending that much on bedding. but the cheap ones looked so... cheap, that we thought, maybe someone will get the bedding for us.... this way, WE don't have to spend the money...

we happened to be at walmart last night, not specifically looking for bedding, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a 10-piece bedding set for $90! it's disney baby and has many baby characters - bambi, dumbo, thumper, and others (i can't remember right now).

now that the bedding is in, the nursery looks more like a nursery. need a baby to make it more complete though ;)

free glider

my cousin Bueben called me a few weeks back, letting me know that a friend of hers was giving away a free glider chair and wondering if i was interested. um, heck yeah! those chairs are stinkin expensive! anyways, apparently the lady only used it once ("her baby was too fast on the boob") and it's been sitting in her basement for nearly 12 years.

we picked it up from Bueben's on Sunday. it's a beautiful chair - no one would think it's 12 years old. it looks brand new and the lady cleaned/washed it all before letting us take it. it's a cream-colored cushion with very light colored polka dots on a light wooden frame. it's so comfy.

thanks Bueben!

Hello third trimester

hard to believe i only have 12 weeks to go.

updates:

can't sleep. my back hurts in every position and i can't breathe when i'm on my back.

can't breathe when i'm sitting upright either, which is just perfect, seeing as how i sit all day for work.

super tired. my body is so sluggish and i feel like first trimester all over again when it comes to fatigue. it feels like i can't ever sleep enough.

lots of activity. it's really cool to recline back or lie on my side and watch her try to escape from my belly. definitely packing more of a punch now.

weight gain. 16 lbs total. if i gain a pound a week til the end of this pregnancy, i guess that will be about 28 lb. i sure hope i can lose it easily, though i somehow doubt that.

looking forward to cooler weather. what is with this september? it's so stinkin hot and i'm just baking in this house. bring on the snow already. or at least some rain.

mat leave

talked to HR today. i left her a message 3 weeks ago and she never returned my phone call. well, at least she apologized.

my due date being some time between Dec 4 and Dec 9, i decided i'm gonna start my leave on Nov 30. apparently it has to begin on a monday, so that's what i will do. perhaps it's cutting it a bit close, but i'm also taking the 3 weeks of vacay that i have saved up leading up to Nov 30. so basically i only need to work a week or so in Nov and then i'll be done!

i love working for the U of C and the awesome benefits we get. even then, i'm already eager to go back to work (yeah, i know... i'm still working) and doubt i'll take the full year. i don't think financially we can manage that anyway. jesse's gotta go to school for his last year of plumbing and so he too will be in EI for 2 months. we have to balance things out so we can still put food on the table and pay our mortagage on time.

so as it stands, i think i'd like to go back in about September. maybe sooner, maybe later - i guess it all depends on how i feel at the time and what mom wants to do in terms of her work. i'm hoping she retires for good so she can watch the baby full-time, but that's rather selfish of me, isn't it?

harder to breathe

as the third trimester approaches, i'm really starting to get uncomfortable. i thought i'd be lucky, as i have been so far, to fare through this pregnancy relatively easily, but nope.

my belly now begins just under the boobs, making breathing so very difficult. sitting upright is definitely the most uncomfortable position and, well, lucky for me, i work sitting all day. straightening my back helps with the breathing, but that hurts my back after a while.

my low back is curving in more and so it's hard on my back to lie flat. for some reason, it's harder to lie on soft surfaces (like my ultra-soft bed), so for the last week i've been sleeping on the floor. while this alleviates the back pain, it makes my arms hurt throughout the night.

i know... all i'm doing is complaining. but this is my blog, so i'm allowed, aren't i?

the love of my life

7 years and 1 week ago, i moved into Muller Hall at Taylor University College. i was so incredibly excited to be there - i had looked forward to this all through my high school years. i moved in a couple days before the official move-in day. i didn't know anyone, there was hardly anyone there at the time.

i was walking with a visiting friend from Muller Hall to the SU building when a guy (who is now my husband) with sideburns and a green shirt was walking towards me carrying a few flats of pop with another guy (Jay). i kinda knew Jay from before, so trying to be "cool", when we walked past them, i said to Jesse, "so... are you the pop guy or something?" and he gave me a "uh yeah" and kept walking.

pfff. instantly i thought this guy is a real piece of work. he was good looking, so i figured he must be cocky. i figured he must have a lot of girls who are into him, which gave him a big head.

we happened to live in the same hall, so became friends with the same group of people. we started to hang out more and more, which made it clear my first impression of him was completely off.

we were like two peas in a pod. we were always together. i found my best friend. we went through so much together. he made me laugh like no other, but also made me cry like no other. after an incredibly fun and exciting, yet emotionally challenging 3 years, he asked me to marry him. and i said yes.

i can't believe today we are now celebrating our third wedding anniversary. i can't believe we're having our first baby in just a few months. i am so incredibly blessed and lucky to have jesse. i can't believe i get to keep him for the rest of my life.

i love you bunny. happy anniversary.