Build it and they (he) will come.....

Lee built our crib a few weekends ago and now we're almost completely ready for our little man to come. After the shower on Saturday and receiving so many gifts, we're starting to organize the room and get things in shape. He also built the dresser/changer (which wasn't easy), but I don't have a picture to prove it :)

I'm back with better hips and new shoes!

It's been over a week since I've written, much to my dismay, but my life has been a bit chaotic these days. I am now in the countdown to maternity leave (2.5 weeks to go!) which means I've been SWAMPED at work trying to tie up all loose ends. Additionally and best of all, last Saturday was my baby shower and all of my beautiful sisters were here visiting me, including my 2 thirteen year old nieces!! Needless to say, we had such a fun weekend of bonding and being together. Don't think any of us wanted it to end :) The baby shower was everything I hoped it would be - a wonderful afternoon of great conversation and even better company. The atmosphere couldn't have been more beautiful, the food was delicious, and the gifts were so incredibly special. Here are a few pics of the day:

Not a great picture of me talking, but you can see the big belly!

In other news...I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to a personal trainer! My hip/butt pain is almost gone thanks to Lee and the workout/stretching regimen that he designed for me. Every night I do about 4 exercises and 5 stretches and OMG, it's helped so so much. If any of you prego ladies out there get the same kind of pain, please contact me so I can have Lee walk you through the workout. It gives me instant relief every night.

Last week it became official that the only shoes I can fit my feet into are my sneakers and flip flops. My (again) wonderful husband decided to buy me new shoes for my birthday (so sweet) and picked out the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. They are called PG Lite and are actually orthopedic shoes meant to give the utmost support possible, also contributing to my healing hip. Not sure what PG stands for, but we've been calling them Preggers Lite and I think every pregnant woman needs to have a pair! You can buy them anywhere, including AMAZON and they come in many colors. We picked out black patent leather for me and did I mention that they're a WHOLE size larger than I normally wear?:

My hands are still bothering me and I've found out that I actually have carpal tunnel now in both of them. From my research, I've learned that this is a common occurrence among pregnant women from the swelling and pressure on the nerves in the hands. I have been wearing hand braces at work and especially to bed which is when most of the pain occurs. This is an extremely annoying problem, but something I'm much more happy to deal with than hip/back/butt pain. Here is an article about pregnancy carpal tunnel:

Carpal Tunnel during pregnancy

Update and the cutest shoes ever!!

Today was my 2 week appointment and my little bun is growing just perfectly. His heart beat was at 156 which is on the high side, but only because he was VERY active this morning before our appointment. I am gaining just enough weight and the doc said that if I continue to grow at the rate in which I have been, we should have a 7 lb. baby. Lee didn't come to the appointment and when I called to tell him this, he told me to eat more protein, haha!! I guess he wants a big baby, but I need to remind him that I'm a small person and need to actually birth the baby :) I am not opposed to a C-section for medical reasons or if our boy is too big, but 7 lbs is just fine by me!

Unfortunately there is nothing that my doctor can do about the pain in my backside, but I pretty much knew that going in. She suggested a pregnancy chiropractor or massage therapist which I may try. For my hand problem, she suggested wrapping them in ace bandages before bed. For some reason I did not ask why I should do this, but I trust the doc so I'll try it out. Probably the same idea as the compression hose. I will continue with my 2 week appointments until April when I start going in once a week so they can check on me! Whew....time is flying by!!

On to my find of the day....the cutest baby shoes ever! Not only are these the cutest shoes, but they are fair trade which means that they are ecologically friendly and they provide decent wages and living conditions to their workers - no child labor either. A pair of baby shoes will run close to 35 bucks, but it's a 35 that we can feel good about spending to support fair trade. The website for the company is www.veja.fr. I think they even have adult shoes!

Here is a pic of the grey baby shoes (my favorite)!

Pain in my a**....literally

So it's week 33 now and all of a sudden I am plagued with serious lower back/upper butt pain and it's BAD. I am not sure if it's sciatica, but it feels exactly like the description of what sciatica is. My feet and ankles are still swelling alot through the day and now I have this horrible pain that is making it hard to even walk! The only thing so far that seems to ease the pain is ice for 20 min and heat for 20 min a few times throughout the day. Not to be a complainer, but how am I going to get through 7 more weeks of not being able to walk without pain? YIKES! I have our normal 2 week appointment with the doc tomorrow and will see if there's anything I can do to feel better. Someone today suggested a back brace to me and another person suggested compression hose. Check out a pic of the hose...pretty funny, but I'd gladly wear them EVERY day if it helped me feel better.

Besides the back pain, I'm feeling good otherwise. My energy level is great, my spirits are high (I'm super excited for the impending birth) and I am not feeling too nervous about anything. Sleeping IS a bit difficult lately because my right hand keeps falling asleep while I'm asleep, but that is a small obstacle compared to the a** pain :)

For something fun, I learned a few new things about my little bun today from my favorite online pregnancy source (whattoexpect.com). Here is a quote from an email that I received this morning.

"If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).

And good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: The development of his or her own immune system that (along with antibodies from you) will be able to provide protection from mild infections."

Oh how I wish my uterine walls had eyes, or a camera. Now that he's getting bigger, my little bun is moving around so much that I can see his little limbs making waves through my belly. Last night I was laying on the couch with ice on my back wishing that my video camera wasn't so far away (on the other side of the room) so that I could record all of the crazy moves my belly was making. Maybe I'll catch it tonight when he's doing his exercises!

I love Leggings!!

Now that my belly is growing larger and I'm feeling more uncomfortable in clothes, I have been living in LEGGINGS. Up until yesterday most of my leggings were from Express and they're not maternity which made getting them on a bit challenging. Lee's cousin Joanna was sweet enough to let me borrow some maternity clothes from her this week, complete with three pairs of maternity leggings!! They are so incredibly comfortable and I'm completely in love with them so I felt the need to share. The brand is called See you Monday , but I've had a hard time finding a real internet presence for them. If you're interested, here is a link to purchase some, but they're not maternity. http://www.barefeetshoes.com/list.htm?cid=54 I will have to ask Joanna where she got them. Honestly, they're the most comfortable leggings I've ever worn!

Two months to go!!

Two months from today is our due date - woo hoo! As much as I love being pregnant, it's already starting to get a bit difficult for me at 7 months so I'm ready for these last 2 months to fly by. Maybe it's the simple fact that I'm short and so the extra weight is really hard on my body, who knows...maybe I'm just a little weakling ;) I have a constant ache in my hip area, my sides are sore all the time, and my feet get swollen and throb on a daily basis! My wedding rings officially don't fit my fingers anymore, unless I wear them on my pinkie, but I tried that and it doesn't look so good.

We had a doctor's appointment last Wednesday and the doc told me to lay on my left side as often as possible to promote better circulation. She said that the weight of the baby is pushing on major arteries which make circulation a bit more difficult. Laying on the left side (side of the heart) alleviates the pressure and lets blood flow more easily. She suggested walking around after about 20 minutes of laying down so that the water will absorb back into the body. This has proven more difficult for me than the laying down part of this exercise :)

If you're preggers and you are experiencing swelling, definitely call your doctor and just make sure that your blood pressure is checked. Major swelling (like gaining 12 lbs in a week) and aches all over your body can be a sign of pre-eclampsia which is hypertension in pregnant women and can be a danger. Not that it's common, but we should all be cautious and safe.

Here are pics at 7 months!

First baby picture!

We've gotten many ultrasound pictures during the past few weeks and finally figured out how to scan one so that a little something can be seen. SO....here is our son at 31 weeks! The picture is a side profile of his head and to help navigate, the dark oval in the middle of the image is his eye socket. If you move to the left a bit, you can see a tiny outline of his nose, but it's not easy to pick up from the scanned pic. Everything below his head is just fluid and other stuff which I won't be specific about :) I know he looks like a little alien in there, but we think he's pretty adorable already!

P.S. I now know why women in their third trimester walk so funny. It's not just because they're carrying the extra weight of baby, it's because they have to pee EVERY minute of the day!!!