Almost there......

I have officially entered the paranoid stage. I am now days away from holding this new little girl in my arms and it is consuming me. Every morning I wake up and think "will I have a baby today?!". I have to do my hair every morning just in case I won't get another shower for awhile, and every meal I eat I think "was that enough to get me through labor?!". I have actually RE-PACKED my hosptial bag and RE-CHECKED my lists because I can't shake the feeling that I'll forget something and every single twinge I feel I start thinking "is this it?! Is labor starting?!". I've had a lot of tightening in my abdomen in the last couple of days and wake up at night with my stomach cramping so I know that progress is being made. It is just a waiting game. The anxiety of not knowing where I'll be, how far away Bryce will be, and getting Charlotte taken care of is the hardest part. Charlotte was a week early, so I was in shock when my labor with her started (didn't she know that first babies are supposed to come after their due date?!) and I keep thinking that this one will be early too. My labor with her went so fast (it's just like your wedding day, it becomes one big blur) that I'm nervous about labor with this one too, even though I've done it before. I might be even more nervous this time because I know how much work is involved! So, lots of prayers. Lots of relaxation techniques. Lots of reading to re-fresh newborn days and breastfeeding. And lots of waiting....

Cabin Fever.....

What do you do when it's cold and wet outside? Run around in Mommy's high heels:


Literally......


Or throw a blanket over your head and pretend you are Rapunzel from Tangled:

Nursery Update

A few additions and the nursery is complete. We finally went through all of our newborn stuff and re-assessed what we needed this time around.


A lavender butterfly mobile above the crib


Baby books complete with butterfly bookends. I am super excited about our new sound machine too!


I found a bassinet stand that will hold our Uppa Baby bassinet on Amazon! Charlotte slept in this bassinet attached to the stroller by our bed, but this time we can leave the stroller in the car and the stand in our room. Works on our Moses basket too!


Newborn to six month clothes are all hung up. There were a lot of things we had to replace, like our baby bath and parts of my pump, but we have everything we need now. Can you tell I've been nesting?!

Feelin' the love

I really am so lucky to have found a job that I love. In education, it feels even more important that I love the people I work with. The support system that teachers build can make your day to day experiences great or awful and can make your school year one you'll never forget, or one you never want to remember.

My work surprised me with a "Pampers Party" to help us celebrate our new baby girl, and I know all of those diapers will come in handy! It was SO nice to see how many people at school care about us and want to wish us well and I was so touched by all the thoughtfulness and kind gestures that went into this shower.


Some of the girls from my shower.




My good friend Lindsay crocheted these matching hats for baby girl and Charlotte. I LOVE that she included Charlotte, and used Charlotte's favorite colors! These girls are going to be so cute!

One of the sweetest ladies made Charlotte a "big sister" shirt. Charlotte CANNOT WAIT to wear it!


Charlotte helped me sort and stack everything up, but every time I tried to take a picture of it she literally jumped in the way with her arms out. If she's already jealous over pictures of the baby's diapers, how am I ever going to get a picture of the baby?!



I literally had to send her out of the room, but I finally got a picture. Some cute outfits and LOTS of diapers!

Smarty-Pants

With Daddy's glasses on....

9 months pregnant

The ninth month is proving to be the most challenging for me. I hit week 36 and feel like my body is slowly starting to break down. Between sciatic pain and reflux, sleep hasn't come easy. After returning to work from our winter break, I woke up the next morning and felt like I had pulled a muscle in my leg. I had been sitting in and out of meetings for most of the day, so I kind of shrugged it off and figured it would feel better after a shower. I had to sit for most of the shower because I couldn't really put weight on my leg and when I got out and put my contacts in I noticed that my right thigh was bright red and swollen. I went on to work and called the doctor who basically told me that I've got to stay off my feet (ha! I have to teach a full day, mother a three year old toddler, and cook dinner every night. Does he think I'm a miracle worker?!). I had an appointment for the next day and he would look at it then. When I showed up for my appointment he said he wanted to send me to a radiologist to have a doppler ultrasound on the veins in my leg just to rule out a blood clot. The procedure was very painful because she had to push down on my leg (veins) to get them to compress and look at the changes in blood flow and the entire thigh is extremely tender to the touch. I left there limping and waiting to hear my results. The good news is that I do NOT have a blood clot, but the bad news is there is really no remedy. MY OB said that the position of my uterus is cutting off blood flow to the veins in my leg. Treatment is to lay as flat as possible with my legs elevated and use a warm compress and/or tylenol for pain. They also gave me an antibiotic to rule out an infection. Mom came up Friday night to help me with dinner/Charlotte so that I could rest and honestly a whole day of bedrest has made a huge difference in the swelling. It still hurts, but I'm hoping I can keep it under control. If I have to go on bedrest permanently (which would be the doctor's next step) then that will use up my sick time for maternity leave so I am trying to tough it out as best I can. I've been trying to look at the positive side of this, and have come to the conclusion that this is God's way of making me slow down. Ordering pizza or heating up chicken nuggets for awhile isn't going to hurt us (Charlotte likes those dinners better any way!), and Charlotte and I could use some snuggle time laying in bed before the new baby comes. Now if I could only fight down these nesting urges to get up and do, do, do!

It is amazing how fast nine months have flown by. When I was pregnant with Charlotte, it felt like some months dragged by and she would never be here. The space between my doctor's appointments then felt like months rather than weeks. With this pregnancy, it blows my mind that we've been through summer, a half a year of school, and all the holidays. I literally don't know where the time went and going to the doctor every week feels like the blink of an eye. Our bags are packed, the paperwork is in, and the nursery is ready. Now all we have to do is sit back (or lay back in my case) and wait for this little girl to pick her birthday!

The Optimist Creed

My New Year's Resolution, 2012:

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

It's going to be a good year!