Pictures

I did a project today. I strung about 6 feet of thick string (somewhat like clothes line) along Benton's wall. I then clothes pinned pictures of Paul to the string. So now there are bunches of pictures of Paul hanging in Benton's room. I just want to make sure he recognizes his Daddy. It's really cute, too.

Things have been going good lately. Benton's been doing cartwheels in my belly on a regular basis before bed. I usually wake up around 3 am for no reason. Rolling over in bed's become a chore. I snuggle with pillows on either side of me all night. I'm ready to pop this kid out. But I don't think it's from being pregnant, because I'm really not that uncomfortable. The waiting is what's killing me. Time seems to have slowed down.

Oh, I also got Benton's baby book the other day. It's kind of like a scrap book. I also got a little plastic box to put his first birthday cards in, and Christmas cards, ultrasound photos, and other stuff. It's tucked away in his closet.

I also finally got a mattress for the crib. Now I have the crib put together and ready to go. The very last thing I need/want is a glider. I'm working on it, though. For some reason I'm hesitant on getting one. Paul doesn't think I'll use it. I do. I'd like to be able to rock him (and myself) to sleep. Especially while breastfeeding.

I have to now squish the car seat in the car instead of the truck. The truck is inoperable right now. So we're compacting things down. It's a pain but there's nothing I can do about it until the truck gets fixed.

Grandma Betty will be arriving on the 27th. Grandma and Grandpa Aspedon will also be coming around that time, too. It'll be nice having some help. I just have to get the office cleaned out and the bed made.

I also got an exercise ball the other day. They're not as expensive as I thought they'd be. It was only $10 at Target. I've sat on it a couple times. I really haven't been home so I haven't been able to use it much. It's pretty comfy, though. I did a little bouncing on it last night.

Well, 30 days are left of this pregnancy. I can't wait. I'm so excited. It's all I can talk about and I'm sure people are getting annoyed. Sometimes I annoy myself. But I'm proud to be a soon-to-be mommy. I'm definitely looking forward to all the joys and struggles of parenthood.

Oh, also....

I know it's been a while, but here's a new belly picture. It was taken a week ago, at 33 weeks 5 days.



When the time comes....

Paul and I had a discussion yesterday about what will happen leading up to and during Benton's birth. As we all know, he is currently deployed and will be unable to return home for the birth.

First off, what if Benton doesn't decide to turn his little butt around and is breech? At my appointment the other day, I asked the doctor about them manually turning him. He explained how they will give me a medication to make my uterus soft. I will be hooked up to machines to monitor how well the baby is tolerating the turning. The worse that could happen, either way, is I will need a c-section. Originally, we didn't want to turn him. If he was going to be breech we were just going to leave him that way. But then we got to talking and thinking about it. Since Paul won't be here, it will be a million times harder for me to care for a newborn alone when I'm unable to move around. I've had surgery before (to remove the teratoma, remember?) and I was out of it for a few days. And if mom and dad are helping me, they'll have even more of a chore that I don't want to burden them with. So we decided, if we need to, we will try to turn Benton to avoid having a c-section. So hopefully the little turd turns!

We also discussed what would happen regarding notifying Paul about labor and delivery. The decision? First off, let me say that I have no way of contacting Paul. I have to wait for him to message me on Yahoo messenger or call me. So...... If I am in labor and Paul happens to call/IM me, cool. We'll let him know what's going on so he can stay on the phone with me or webcam (his commander already okayed it for him to take the time to "be with me" and so did my doctor.) If he doesn't get a hold of me during labor, there will be no attempt made to contact him (i.e. calling Red Cross to send a message). We both know how he will stress out about what's going on, freak out on the doctors, and potentially distract him from a mission he's in the middle of. But no one will know about the birth until he does, even if it takes a week for us to talk to each other.

Yes, that's right. I could be potentially torturing myself, but no one (not even family, friends, or the world of Facebook) will know of the birth and see the baby until Paul does.

So basically, all it boils down do is Paul will contact me. I will make no effort to contact him. That's what we both decided on and think is best. My dad's already got the video camera charging to we can film it.

Mobile

Benton's mobile arrived by FedEx yesterday and I put it up in his room. I put it above his changing table since he won't be sleeping in his crib for a while. It's really cute. The pig on it keeps making me mad, though because he keeps bumping the arm and stopping it from spinning. Oh, well. I like it alot.

Mom came up with a good idea of stringing some string on the wall and getting some clothes pins and kind of doing a decorative yet changeable picture holder with tons of pictures of Paul. So that may just be my next project.

I finally had my last boring doctor's appointment today. In two weeks I go back and get to start getting my cervix checked. Yay! I can't wait to have an appointment that doesn't feel pointless for once.

I thought I was having contractions the other day. Very very mild ones, though. I just waited them out and they went away. It kind of felt like this achiness in my back that would then go to my abdomen and my belly would get hard when my abdomen started hurting. It wasn't anything major. Heck, I can't even walk around the house now without having Braxton Hicks contractions. I literally feel like I'm carry a rock solid bowling ball everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, though. I'm still loving being pregnant. I wouldn't change it for the world.

6 more weeks left!

Daddy's Gone

Well, little man, it's just me and you for now. Daddy left today. I can honestly say that today was the longest and possibly hardest day of my life. I cried quite a bit throughout the day, before he left. Around 4ish, he and I spent a little time together and got to talk for a few minutes. We kissed. I'll never forget it. Then they walked out to the shuttle busses with their carry-on bags and guns. I stood outside and watched them load up. I cried a tear here and there. And then the busses pulled off. And I lost it.

I can't wait for him to come home to hold and see you. You'll be a few months old the first time you meet. But always remember that he's loved you since before you were born.

So I'm going to do my best to keep you two in touch. With videos and pictures and everything in between. But for now, it's just you and me.

One year left until Daddy's home!

Nesting

Holy freaking cow! I can't stop doing stuff! And it's not towards the front of the house (dining room, living room, kitchen) like normal. The baby's room is spotless. The guest bedroom/office is spotless, new bedding put on, furniture rearranged, window treatment put up, closet organized. Our bedroom has new blinds and a valance. New bedding. Completely rearranged. I even wiped down the walls and some of the baseboards on both bedrooms. Holy hell, what is wrong with me?!?!?!

Tomorrow I'm going to tackle finishing up our bedroom and then the bathroom and then the kitchen.

CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN!

Labor Predictions

So I'm absolutely bored, it's almost 2:30 am and I can't sleep. I've ran out of things to look at on the internet. So I thought I'd write. The topic? You guessed it! What I predict my labor will be like.

Well, first off, considering that Paul deploys this weekend, I know I will be stressed, depressed, upset, overwhelmed, and a million other emotions in one. With that being said, I think I will go into labor early. Not too early. Just a few days, say 3 or 4. January 27th. Which that won't be too bad. BUT! I think Benton will be breech (as he is now, with his big head in my right ribcage). Therefore, I forsee myself having a c-section or complicated delivery.

How do I know? I don't. I just have a gut feeling. I hope everything goes picture-perfect. But we all know reality can suck (sorry to be such a Debbie Downer) so I'm just changing my expectations a little.

And that birth plan? I'm not having one. I still want au naturel. 100%. But again, I'm going to brace myself for anything that can happen. I just have to be more aware and less passive about things that are going on around me. And let mom and dad know, too, so they can make decisions if I can't.

Now that we've got that out the way, I need to mention one more thing. I can't stop drooling at night. And I get tired more like in my first trimester. And I still click the computer buttons when I bend forward. And my chin hair won't stop growing!

*GASP!* I so totally forgot to write about my ultrasound on the 7th. It went pretty good. Got one picture out of the deal. I only got to see the screen for a brief minute. Paul got to see the whole thing. Benton's still measuring large. How large? I'm not sure. The doctor was kind of in a crabby mood. Oh, and he was moved to his new office right next to the hospital. It was perdy!!!!

Nursery

Benton's room is about 90% done and I love it!

The storage unit in the closet and wall shelf were given to us by my parents. They look awesome in the room and give it that extra "touch". Thank you mom and dad! We love it!

We went shopping!

Yesterday Paul and I finally went baby shopping on our own. It was fun yet very exhausting. We got some great deals.

We first stopped at one baby consignment store in town. They didn't have anything we liked. So we went to the other consignment shop, Storkdaddy's. Paul picked out a few rattler and teething toys. I also got him 3 or 4 sleep sacks. He's got pajamas sized 3 months and up. Poor little guy had nothing to sleep in for now! He also got a camo bodysuit. We spent about $30 there.

Then we went to one of the Goodwill stores here in town. We picked up 2 bookends for his shelf, an activity mat, wipes warmer, about 5 books, and a few other things for another $30.

And last came Target. Eeek! We got quite a bit, though. Curtains. Sheets. Bottles. Receiving blankets. Lamp. Totes. A couple "daddy" outfits. Matress pad. And some other stuff for about $130.

All in all, I say we did pretty darn good yesterday. Paul still has to put up my shelf so I can get things set on it and organized. I'll be using the original farm bumper I purchased at the Goodwill a while back. I got a yellow curtain to match the fence. I might get a red bedskirt to match the barn.

Oh, and before he and I went shopping together, I got the rest of the stuff for my hospital bag at HEB yesterday. I am completely packed and ready to go except for bras, cell phone, laptop, and change for the vending machines.

So, I've got pretty much everything I need. I eliminated 90% of the stuff on my registry to help me keep track of what is left to buy. Basically the main thing to get is the crib matress. I kind of want a glider but I don't know yet. I'll keep my eye out on Craigslist for that.

The nursery is almost done! Yay!

Baby Shower

This past Saturday, December 4th, was my baby shower. It was at grandma's house. I can honestly say, I had a blast. There were 15 of us and it was great to have lots of laughter and fun. Paul and I were very blessed with gracious gifts from family and friends. Thank you!

The games were lots of fun. In the first game, everyone had to guess how many Mike and Ikes were in a small baby bottle. 99 in all. I think the closest guess was 92. The next game was the TP game. Everyone had to guess how many TP squares around I was. Paul's grandma won. She was about 1/4 sheet over. Others were a whole roll over and some didn't even go halfway around my belly. It was hilarious! And the last game was 3 people had to drink apple juice from a baby bottle (9 oz). Paul, Charlsie, and Carol K. were the drinkers. It was very hard for them to do and I don't think anyone finished their juice without cheating. But Paul won because he could chug the juice the fastest (of course they took the nipples off).

Grandma got 30 cupcakes and a mini cake. Quite a few of the cupcakes were eaten. We got to take a few home. Paul and Charlsie hung balloons and a sign at the end of the driveway. And Aunt Cathy helped hang balloons downstairs.

From start to finish, the shower was awesome. Again, thank you to eveyone who helped and everyone who came. I loved it.

Swelling and Travel Systems

I forgot to update about the Braxton Hicks contractions. Well, I waited them out that night and they eventually went away after a couple hours. The next night they came at the same pace for a couple hours and then went away. Then nothing after that. So no hospital visit. Just an overly-worried me, as always.

On to the next topic: Swelling. Over the past couple days my ankles have been swelling. Nothing major but enough to get on my nerves. I've been drinking only water to try to help it. And when I sit my feet are up. So hopefully it will subside. Or at least not get any worse.

Yesterday and the evening before, Aunt Cathy took Paul and I shopping for a car seat and stroller set. You would have thought we were buying a house!!! I can honestly say, Paul really and truly cares about what our baby will be sitting in and how it will be used. The first evening we looked, we went to Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart. We couldn't settle on anything we liked. It either didn't have enough cup holders, or the seat didn't sit in it right, or it was hard to fold up. So the next day we went to Babies R Us. We looked at travel system after travel system. We finally found two systems (the same kind only with a couple differences) that we really liked. One was black and green and one was brown with safari animals. I really loved the black and green one but Cathy brought up a really good point: when the baby spits up or the car seat brushes against a dirty vehicle, the mess will be really visible. And also, since we live in Texas, the black will retain the heat the most. So after much deliberation, and test driving it through the store, we decided to get the safari print one. It's very cute, has a micro-fiber feeling to it, nice stitching and is really easy for me to fold/unfold and carry. And I (Paul, too) just want to say Thank you sooooo much! We are very, very grateful for this gift.

 

My swollen ankles.

Somewhere in the 31 week mark.